To linger means ‘to stay in a place longer than is necessary because of a reluctance to leave.’ We usually linger in places we really like, wanting to spend more time there. Or we linger with people whose company we really enjoy because we just like being with them. Lingering is the very opposite of our normal day, which is tightly packed with schedules and ‘to do’ lists. Often, we feel like we move through the day with military precision simply to ‘get things done’, but so often, what we do is functional and leaves us dissatisfied and miserable. What we really crave is meaning, which often only emerges through seeing life at a more leisurely pace.
William Henry Davies wrote a poem called ‘Leisure’:
‘What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.’
The song ‘To Be In Your Presence’ talks of lingering in God’s presence (‘to sit at Your feet where Your love completes me, to rest in Your presence, not rushing away…’) Sometimes our times with God are rushed, hasty, perfunctory affairs: a quick prayer, a snatched Bible reading, as we gulp down our morning coffee, minds already wondering how we fill fit in everything else that day. Martha’s lifestyle is so much more the norm than Mary’s (Luke 10:38-42). Our days are filled with important tasks (and even the mundane tasks take time!), so the idea of ‘standing and staring’ seems positively criminal.
But lingering is critical to personal growth. Leisure is vital to balance and harmony, and time with God is far more than leisure. We need to carve out time to linger. The washing-up can wait. The exercise regime might have to find a new slot (‘physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’ 1 Tim 4:8) Dinner might have to be served a little later than usual. God wants to spend time with us. It’s worth lingering a little longer with Him today than you usually do.