Indolence

I had a physical this morning. New doctor ... new location and the same old anxiety. "I really should exercise more." "I wonder where my blood pressure is going to be." "Am I going to get back any flexibility in that right hip?" Questions that I had put off for months were now circling like vultures over road kill.

During the day before, I made all the right resolutions. Plans for working out, eating better and taking care of myself rolled across my mind like a well-ordered army. Then one more word scrolled across the screen of my mind. Indolence.

The dictionary defines indolence as "the tendency to be lazy." It's not laziness personified; it's just leaning in that direction. It's staying in bed when life urges you up. It's staying in bed because you haven't thought about the big picture of your life; just the fact that you don't want to face the day.

Well ... the day is going to come whether you want to face it or not. It's just a matter of whether you want to move about the day, the week, the month in an orderly manner or one would rather have things pile up so that you have to cram it through at the end. I hated this when I was a student (didn't keep me from doing it); and I detest it as an adult.

Why? It's because it robs my leisure and recreation time of joy. I take a break because I am sick or worn out, not because it's part of the natural rhythm of life. I don't end a time of leisure with a smile, but rather with a groan because I haven't fully rested.

1 Kings 19:11 (NIV) "The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.'" This is what I want to do this morning "stand in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."

1 Kings 19-20