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by: Staci Stallings
“Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind…”
With that clarion call, Casting Crowns begins their song “The Well.”
The first time I heard the song, I was clearly in “get on with it mode.” You know, that state of mind where you don’t have time for “this.” As I recall, it was my oldest daughter (who is 17) who first brought me the song. One of her friends had told her to listen, and it made such an impression on her that she thought I would like it too.
However, I was in my office, doing bills or sending statements or any one of the thousand other things I do when I’m sitting in this chair.
So when this first part started, part of me wondered if the iPod was stuck or something.
Seriously. “Okay, I get it already. Get on with it!”
But isn’t it amazing how God works, and how hard He sometimes has to work to slow us down?
Have you ever looked at your watch in church and wondered how much longer this was going to take? Have you ever calculated just how much more time is left?
I know when my son was younger, he had the patience of a gnat at the first freeze. He would ask, “How much longer?” I finally figured out a way to tell him without using time. I would simply lean down and say, “We’ve got six more songs.” Then I’d count them down on my fingers. This seemed to work very well.
But how often do we get into this “how much longer is this going to take, God?” mode. Devotion time. Prayer time.
The question is… why? Why do we speed-buggy through life like that? What is it we’re trying so hard to get to? I think, ironically, most of us are trying to get to a place where we can just rest. But in trying so hard to get to rest, do we sometimes miss the resting part altogether?
I think that’s why my spirit jangled so hard that first day.
“Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind.
Leave it all behind….”
Stop.
Breathe.
Close your eyes.
Leave it all behind.
Let go.
Surrender.
Just be for a moment.
Leave it all behind.
Don’t worry about what comes next
or how you’re going to get over there.
Just relax and breathe.
Leave it all behind.
It’s hard, I know, but I think that’s the first step toward returning to sanity. “Leave it all behind…”
This is my first time hearing this song, but I love it and I have bible study group called Women At The Well.