Smelling Roses

Favorite quotes often get repeated.  "Stop and smell the roses" is one, meaning one should slow down his pace of life and see the world around him.  It's good advice, but seldom heeded.  Sounds great, though.
It's very hard to make ourselves slow down for anything, much less smelling roses.  Sometimes we need someone else to help us. Tommy and I have been married almost 45 years.  Somewhere along the way, he taught me how to really love and I taught him to smell roses - valuable lessons for us both.  His pace around the track where we walk is more determined than mine. So, he yields his gait and we talk and notice...stuff.  The object of the verb here varies with each day.
Yesterday I noticed horses.  Tommy was not with me so I texted my pictures to him and we shared the moment.  One of the horses was rolling on the ground, scratching his back, his eyes covered with a cloth.  A big ditch lay between us, but when I called to them, they came to the fence.  What I would have given for an apple.  I felt like National Velvet.

Lying on his right side.

Lying on his left side.

..and here they come!

Well, hello!

The next time I was in the park, I noticed two very cute guys playing football.  I stopped and took some pictures.  This taking notice thing is working for me. (Wink!)

Demands of life dictate the pace at which we run.  In our quests to live lives pleasing to the Lord, if we look to the left and the right, we will see we are not alone.  Paul gives us wisdom for the journey:
1 Thessalonians 5:11-14  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.