School Bus Spirituality
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
What if the stop you’re resisting is the very place where God is asking you to pay attention.
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
— Mahatma Gandhi
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
— Anne Lamott
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Food For Thought
I tried to speed up, but just wasn’t quick enough. I was forced to pause and watch it make the turn into my lane in front of me. And just like that, I found myself staring directly into the back of a big, yellow school bus. I didn’t see much movement, so I hoped the bus driver had finished the route. But I knew I was wrong when I saw the flashing yellow lights and the long white arm extend the sign that felt directed at me…S-T-O-P.
Am I the only one who thinks there are few things quite as frustrating – and humbling – as getting stuck behind a school bus.
One child gets off. You wait.
The bus moves forward. Another stop. You wait again.
And maybe another.
There is no way to pass. No way to change the situation. No way to convince the bus driver that you have places to go and important things to do.
You simply have to S-T-O-P.
It’s annoying…and completely out of your control.
If we’re honest, sometimes life feels exactly like this.
We have plans and schedules. We have expectations for how quickly things should happen. We want to get somewhere – and then something or someone makes us stop and wait.
Scripture offers a different way of seeing these interruptions.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Notice that the Psalmist doesn’t say, “Be productive and know that I am God”, or “Be quick and know that I am God”.
It says, “Be still”.
The school bus forces stillness upon us. We don’t get to choose when the stopping happens. We don’t get to speed it up. We can only choose how we use our time when we are stopped.
And perhaps this is part of the invitation.
What if the pause is not wasted time?
Not cause for irritation or impatience.
What if there is something to notice?
An invitation to become present and pay attention.
The little child stepping off the bus with a backpack almost as big as they are, the parent waiting from the porch, the teenager bouncing to the beat in his earbuds…All ordinary evidence that lives are unfolding all around us while we are busy trying to get somewhere else.
The Gospels tell us Jesus was often interrupted as he was on the way somewhere. Someone needed healing. Someone had a question. Someone wanted to tell a story. The crowds appeared when he was trying to get away.
Again and again, Jesus stopped. He paid attention to what was right in front of him.
Faith asks us to do the same. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is stop.
Breathe. Look around. Pay attention. The world is happening. God is present.
The next time you find yourself behind that big yellow school bus, remember: You may not have control over the stop, but you do have a choice on what you do in the midst of it.
And when the big yellow school bus finally moves again, may you hold fast to the promise that the One who loves you beyond measure is the One who will be with you always, through all of life’s stops and starts.
The next time you are unexpectedly stopped—at a red light, in a checkout line, waiting for an appointment—resist the urge to reach for your phone. Take three slow breaths and notice three things around you. Ask yourself, “What might I notice if I stop trying to hurry through this moment?”
Try taking intentional notice of the people around you. Imagine the lives unfolding beyond what you can see—the parent juggling a busy morning, the child heading into school, the older person running an errand. Let the ordinary people around you become a reminder that every person you encounter carries a story and is beloved by God.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
God of the unexpected stops and starts, slow us down when we cannot slow ourselves down. Help us release our need for control and notice the people, beauty, injustice, joy, and possibility around us. Teach us to be present – not passive, but attentive. May our interruptions become invitations to see what we might otherwise miss.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
When have you experienced an unexpected stop or delay that eventually turned out to be meaningful?
What are some of the things you tend to miss when you are focused on getting somewhere or getting something done?
Where in your life right now might God be inviting you to slow down, pay attention, or simply be still?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Have you ever had to stop or wait when you really wanted to keep going? What was that like?
When you have to wait, what are some things you might notice that you would normally miss?
What do you think it means to “be still” and remember that God is with you?
Meet This WEek’s Writer...
Rev. Elizabeth Parker Horton is the pastor of First Reformed UCC in Lexington, NC. She was part of the Inaugural Class of Wake Forest University Divinity School, and has been practicing ordained ministry for 20 years. Elizabeth is married to Dan, and she is the proud mom of Patrick, Parker, and Megan.
To hear more from Rev. Elizabeth throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!