Lessons From a Fortune Cookie: Everybody Freeze

It's time for another "Lesson From a Fortune Cookie". I got this one the other day with my General Tso's chicken.  It reads:

"Lotus blossoms smell sweeter when you stop."

Simple and packed with truth. Okay, I have no idea what lotus blossoms smell like, but the truth of the statement still remains. How much do we miss because we rush by? Think about it. When was the last time you just froze and took in the awe and wonder of God's creation? When was the last time you stopped to think of all the blessings God has given you in the last week? When was the last time you paused to thank God for all the prayers that He has answered? Many of us have "lotus blossoms" all around us that we have never noticed because we have never stopped. A baby's laugh, a sunset, time shared with loved ones, walks in the woods, moments of true worship, a kind word at just the right time, a helping hand: the little things in life are priceless; however, because they are little they are often overlooked and forgotten.

I too am incredibly guilty of just blurring right through my days, weeks, and months without stopping to take a breath. We get so busy living life that we never truly experience life. God has placed us on this earth with a purpose to bring glory and honor to Him. Do we? God has also surrounded us with so many reminders of His love and goodness. Just look around. Take a walk. Sit by a lake. Drink in the beauty around you. God's craftsmanship is all around us. I believe it was in one of these moments overwhelmed by the grandeur of creation that David penned Psalm 8:3-9:

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

Take some time this week to stop...freeze...pause...be still...and smell the "lotus blossoms" in your life, because if you do you may just notice a new beauty and fragrance that has been there all along.