Lingering

Dear pastor,

I want to ask you a unique and VERY important question…

Are you very good at lingering these days?

Let’s define the word:

• “To remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave: ‘We lingered awhile after the party.’ 
• Also: “to dwell in contemplation, thought, or enjoyment: to linger over the beauty of a painting.”
  
  – From Dictionary.com

You may be thinking to yourself: “What a strange question!”

But here is the point.

Pastors seem to be soooo busy (at least in America, much like the culture around us). But when we are the middle of prayer, worship, devotions, conversation, fellowship, etc are we good at lingering? Are we reluctant to leave because we are enjoying the beauty of the moment with God or with others?

I fear that many of us, much of the time, are not tarrying in God’s presence much more than we are lingering in the presence of people. We are in hurry and we can’t seem to go slow. And as a result we aren’t able to savor the moment, be fully present in the moment, or find the fullness and enjoyment that God had planned for the moment.