“Sometimes it takes a slowdown.”

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Hey everyone. It’s my first blog, hope you enjoy.

I’m thankful for the slowdown that recently happened in my life. I’ve been out of work because of some health issues and it’s been challenging and rewarding.

For now, I’d like to focus on the rewarding.

Some of you may say, “How can being ill be rewarding?”

Let me use an example of a car battery to illustrate. For every positive you must have a negative, or it will not function properly.

You see, if I had never became ill, been out of work, I wouldn’t have had more time at home with my husband and family.

Without my existing health issues, I wouldn’t have had the time to recharge my relationships, and to focus on the healing of my body, mind, and soul.

In this slowdown I’ve been able to spend precious time with my husband, kids, and grand-kids.

Time is a great way to say, “I love you,” and their time, whether it be in large amounts or small, “sparks” my heart and gets me going. I can never get enough of it.😊

Instead of rushing through the day as usual, I’ve had a little more time to reflect on what’s most important to me and to “be” where I’m at in the moment.

I’ve cooked more meals, done more sketching, writing, crafting, a little gardening, and a lot of soul-searching- just living a simpler way of life during this illness.

I’m thankful that God uses things like this in our life for a slowdown to reflect on what’s important.

Ephesians 5:20 reminds us, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I read in the Bible recently of a man who had a slowdown to recharge his life.

2 Kings 20 tells a story of a man named Hezekiah that became ill and was going to die. God used a slowdown of illness and a slowdown of time to recharge Hezekiah’s life.

Verse 1 says, “Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”

When Hezekiah heard these words he turned and became sad and wept.

I would have too if I’d just received a terminal illness diagnosis.

Illness can bring on depression, but we shouldn’t give in to that depression or dwell in it. Depression causes more illness.

When I become depressed or down because of illness and not having all the answers, I find the best way to overcome that depression is to do exactly what Hezekiah did- turn to God and pray.

Verse 2 says, “He turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,”

Verse 3 says, that God heard, saw his tears, and answered Hezekiah’s prayers. God said, “behold, I will heal thee…”

God told Hezekiah to take notice, I’m going to give your physical life back.

Verse 6 goes on to say, “And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.”

God not only delivered Hezekiah and the city he lived in, but he also defended it.

Did you notice what God also did? He added.

God added days to the 15 years He gave Hezekiah.

In other words, and I’ll quote it for you,

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts, It’s the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln~

Then the story goes on to say in Verse 8 Hezekiah asked, “What” shall be a sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?”

You see, Hezekiah knew God was going to do it.

He didn’t question the “How.”

He knew God was all powerful and that He could do whatever He wanted.

He wanted to know the, “What shall” of the thing God was about to do for him. He asked for “signs” or “hints” from God.

Verse 10 and 11 says,

“And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of A’haz.”

They used sun dials in those days to tell time.

Did you hear that??!! God just slowed down time for Hezekiah. I believe Hezekiah was a different person after God did that.

Somehow I just believe Hezekiah stopped to reflect on life more, appreciated what he had more, and let others know it. So much so that another man wanted what he had, but the rest of the story is for another day and time.

In the dial of God’s slowdown,

Jennifer Turner