Lingerer
adjective
lasting for a long time or slow to end.
I've been thinking a lot about lingering lately. Lingering around the dinner table. Lingering in the forest when I take a walk. Lingering in the Word when I take the time to read it well.
And I have been realizing that I haven't been lingering enough.
When I linger after a meal and forget about the clean up and about the dirty pans on the stove, I learn about Brent's excitement for a new project or his hopes for the future. And as I look at his face and listen to his voice, I remember that I need to pray for him regularly and believe the best in him. I remember what sweet gift God gave me when he gave me my husband. I remember to linger, right now, in this beautiful relationship that is mine.
When I linger in the forest and feel the wind blowing the autumn leaves softly; when see them fall like rain upon my path, and when I hear them crunch beneath my feet, I remember that God didn't have to make the seasons change and provide such beauty each fall for us; but he chose to give us melodious birdsong and clean air and warm sunshine because he longs to care for us. I remember to linger, right now, and recall that I serve the lavish God of creation.
When I linger in the Word of God written by him through divinely-inspired human hands, I remember that I can know him better by reading it, by meditating on it, by studying it. When I read Scripture not to finish but to change, I tune my ear to listen for his voice. When I linger in these pages--his pages--I see the constant forgiveness he offers, the abundant grace he provides, and the unending devotion he displays to his children...like me. I remember to linger, right now, at the feet of my Savior, reveling in the reality of his presence in my life.
I want to remember to linger more.
I want to be present in every moment of this very precious life.
I want a life well-lived, a mind well-used, a peace well-embodied. I want to be well-known by Jesus.
May I linger in his blessings, linger in his beauty, linger in his book.
May my mind be captivated by loving, and lingering upon, our great and glorious God.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
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