Yesterday I realized how fast our pace of life really is compared to times gone by. On Canada Day, Lily dragged me to watch the reenactment of the War of 1812 at Fort Henry in Kingston. I wanted to see some bands play down in the park.
I actually thought we would be able to do both, but I forgot they were reenacting a war from 1812 and not from 2012. Things moved MUCH slower back then. We had to wait for the ships to come down the lake and they were late because of the wind. I kept looking at my watch and thinking, “Not a chance we’re going to see the band I was hoping to see perform.”
When the ground troops finally got to shore, they took a long time getting into position to actually fight. If I had have been alive back then, I think I would have gone home and waited for the next war. It moved way too slowly! It’s a wonder anyone died. Bullets went about as fast and far as I can take a slap shot. I think an average person could have ducked and easily gotten out of the way.
Time kept ticking. Finally the Americans and the Canadians got close enough to do some damage. You know that line in the movies, “Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes”? That wasn’t said to draw the enemy in – it was said because, with their accuracy, they couldn’t hit someone whose whites of their eyes they couldn’t see!
I’ve seen movies depicting great wars of the past. They’re all fake – those battles never developed as fast as they portray them. Seriously, you could go to the store, get some pop and chips (not that I would eat it), come back and still wait to see it all unfold.
The funny thing was, every time an American solider died, the crowd cheered. And though the war was a real nail biter, in the end our troops won and the Americans surrendered. So, I’m glad to report, we won . . . again. We’re safe until the next reenactment.
When it was finally over, I looked at my watch and we had pretty much missed all the music in the park. Thank you, War of 1812. As we walked back to the car, Lily thanked me several times for enduring the event for her sake. Interesting note: we drove home (about 14 km) in less time than it took the talk ship to make its way past the downtown to the Fort Henry battle area (about 1 km).
Here’s the thing: we don’t even realize how quickly we want things to happen, take place or develop. And, we can carry that attitude into our time with God. We want answers quickly. We feel we need to keep our time with God short because we have somewhere to be, something to do. We get bored reading the Bible and distracted praying. But what we need to do is slow down, take a trip back in time to an era like, say . . . 1812 when everything was so much slower. Just be in the moment, enjoy it, don’t rush it, and don’t look at your watch. Don’t let our fast paced life rob you of a rich time with God.
Until Next Time!
Pastor Paul
Question: How do you slow your pace to take time with God?
