On this particular day I’m realizing how quickly we take things at face value and forget the Spirit inside us.

Fine. I’ll take back the “we.” Maybe you do an excellent job of listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit each and every day and you can skip down the end.

I almost always forget to listen to the Holy Spirit.

I am also a person of passionate, quick opinions. I will not hesitate to call what I see as good, bad, right, wrong, stupid, hilarious or insufferable. I’m like a mutant version of Adam in the Garden; name it and move on to the next.

Everyone has a reason for why I’m so opinionated; in fact, they have quite strong opinions of their own. It’s because I’m Italian. It’s because I’m a woman. It’s because I’m from New Jersey. Or (most fearful of all) it’s because I am the dreaded Italian Jersey Woman.

I think it comes from the deep, stubborn essence of my soul that likes to make decisions and stick with them. It’s there and it’s who I am. I have to believe God has it there for a reason other than scaring small children; a holy tenacious purpose. When stubbornness is used for good, it changes names and becomes “tenacity” which sounds much holier.

I’ve realized that in the crossroad of my forgetfulness of the Spirit and stubbornness-not-yet-fully-redeemed-to-tenacity there is a huge problem: this isn’t how I am supposed to live. I miss so much when I scurry about and never stop to listen to the quiet force of the Holy Spirit. I miss so much when I make an opinion, call it true and move on. Jesus never called me to be a species that takes things at face value and lives my life contently bobbing on the surface. It definitely isn’t how I am called to love His people.

On a daily basis, I walk around thinking I understand people and making judgment calls on who they are and what they do and whether it’s right or wrong- and I do this because I think I have them pegged. In reality, I know nothing. I don’t know the pain they carry every day or what they deal with at home or what keeps them up at night.

What if I took the time to stop and listen to the Spirit’s quiet, persistent nudges? Maybe I would also stop and listen better to the people around me, what they are really telling me about who they are and how they need to be loved.

As the lazy, lounging days of summer approach, my heart needs to spend some time hanging out and taking a look around. I’m going to pack up my quick opinions with my winter clothes and give slowing down a chance.