July 7
Linger Longer
Dawn Mooring
The Upper Room May-June 2010
The Upper Room, Inc
My Soul is satisfied as with a rich feast and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night Psalm 63:5-6

I have a friend who lives on Linger Longer Road. Doesn't that name sound inviting?   The drive between my home and my friend's takes over an hour.  Upon arrival, I feel compelled to stay awhile. The address, Linger Longer Road, prompts me to kick off my shoes and relax. Maybe I should engrave the words "Linger Longer" on my Bible.  ON some days, I open the scripture and spend hours reading and savoring a passage.  I enjoy God's words as if they were rich food set on a banquet table before me  But I have to admit that on other days, I grab a light snack from scripture and keep walking.  I tell the Lord. "Tomorrow." Suppose I invite guests for dinner and fellowship.  If they came and asked immediately for a to-to box, I would be insulted.  I wonder if god feels the same way about the way we come to the Bible. God wants us to hunger for the love, wisdom, and instruction found in the Bible.  Do we treat God's word like a fast-food drive-through?   Perhaps engraving "Linger Longer" on the front of our bibles would entice us to stay awhile.

Prayer:  Dear god, lead us to savor your word.  Amen.

Thought for the Day:  Lingering in God's presence is a feast of love.

Reflection
The future of health care will include patient-centered care.
That means being in communication with the patient to discern how he/she wants to be treated
Rather than imposing treatment upon this.
This is an entirely new way of health and healing and will most certainly involve longer lingering
 at the bed side and in the presence of the patient and family. 
It will be interesting to see how we fast-pace caretakers will manage to do this.
Maybe lingering longer in the scripture will help us to understand and help us to do the loving thing
in our health care ministry. crsr