Celebrate slowness

I came across this line as I browsed my Instagram feed this morning: Celebrate slowness once again.

Awww, exactly what I needed to hear at the moment. Yesterday, was a full day. I had a meeting at work for 8 hours, and a 3-hr night class, add to that hours spent for video lectures and quizzes + preparation for work meeting. I intended to work on my final paper for another subject after my night class, but my brain seemed to be telling me that she was tired and exhausted and could not process anymore. With bravery, I hid my To do list from my note-taking app, and declared that I would take a rest for the night. I need to calm my thoughts, I told myself. And so, I put aside my laptop, laid down, and allowed my thoughts to wander. I browsed my Facebook, looked at my pictures in Instagram, backread conversations in Messenger, and just did nothing. Haha! Well, that “nothing” was really a “something.” It helped me zoom out of my academic requirements and work responsibilities.

I had other ideas on how I would take a rest last night–do yoga, sing and play the ukulele, spend some time for art, or call my crush! But I did not have the energy to do those things, I really just felt like lying down and taking the day off. I also wanted to talk to God last night but I did not know how. I don’t even know what to say. And so, as mentioned earlier, I ended up resting with Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.

I woke up early today, around 4am, and the sun has not yet risen. I found myself doing my favorite prayer practice: The Examen prayer. I looked back on my productive yet tiring day, and affirmed my decision of resting through the night. Then I planned my day using my [[Good morning Jassy]] template, with my [[Top 3 Daily]]. Aah, I missed using Roam research for my daily routine. (By the way, Roam research is a note-taking tool which helped me big time in navigating my thoughts and feelings since I started using it in April, check it out, guys!) I wrote all my thoughts in Roam as I did my Examen prayer and my Good morning Jassy routine. It was fulfilling and refreshing!

Next thing I knew, I was holding my phone and browsing my Instagram feed. Surprisingly, the posts seemed to speak to me! A flower delivery ad gave me an idea of ordering a bouquet for my birthday haha. Then came posts about staying in the moment, coming wholeheartedly to God, being connected with nature, sharing my gifts to others, and many more! I wrote down lines that jumped out at me, and would publish them in another post hehe. Oh, I love how God spoke to me through Instagram, I did not expect it!

After pondering on the words that struck me, I watched a video of myself singing “Lead me Onward” by Mid-Cities Worship. Awww, as I have said in the video, that song is one of my “pahinga songs.” My favorite line in the song is “I find my rest when I lean on You, Jesus.” I really felt comforted and rested as I sang to the lyrics of that song, and so I tried singing that song again with my ukulele. Then I stood by the window and stared at the trees while listening to the chirping of the birds. Hayy I missed my quiet times during my college days in our dorm. I recalled waking up early and going to our dorm’s garden to spend time with God to hear his word–literally, as I listen to Hardin ng Panalangin in the radio, and figuratively, as I read the Bible and try to understand God’s message for me that day.

All these memories and activities led me to open my phone’s Bible app and read the lectionary reading for today. I got interested with Psalm 111:2 which says, “How wonderful are the things the Lord does! All who are delighted with them want to understand them.” Because of the word “delight,” I thought of this blog–jassy delights. I asked myself once again, “Why the name jassy delights?”

Well, it came from the verse which says, Delight yourself in the Lord. That is what I wanted to do in life when I started my blog: to delight in the Lord. Also, I wanted to share in this blog things and memories that delight me, that gives me joy, that makes my heart smile and sing and be happy. I stayed silent for a while and reflected more on the verse. As I read it from different versions, I realized that Psalm 111:2 speaks much about what I want for this blog! It is about the wonderful things that the Lord is doing in my life and my desire to understand and make sense of them. Hihihi. And yeah, that made me want to open wordpress and write this post. I usually write up to 100 words only, but heyyy, 800+ words is worth writing if it is about life-giving moments like these! I’m glad I followed my heart and decided to write again after a long time HAHA!

I reminisced, learned, and realized a lot today, and mind you, it is just past 8am in the morning! More things could happen and I hope that the rest of today’s moments would also be worth reminiscing someday. Here’s a thank you post to the Lord for waking me up and letting me feel his love and embrace, reminding me to once again celebrate slowness with Him.