Remember the song “Don’t worry be happy” well there may be a lot of truth to this. However, it’s more like don’t hurry, be happy!

I have discovered that a hurried life doesn’t always mean a happy life. In fact, hurry often kills happiness because you can’t even enjoy the moment you are currently in.

I remember going on vacation several years ago with my best friend Leslie Gail. We had talked my Grandma Eloise into going with us since we weren’t going too far and our plans were to have no particular plans or agenda, just relaxation, fishing and a little fun with family on Holiday Island.

My brother Greg and his wife Sherry had gone up earlier because they had more time off and they had even rented a pontoon boat for all of us to enjoy. Leslie and I were living in Siloam Springs but we had driven down to Checotah and picked up my 91-year-old grandmother and then drove back and met up with my family.

I didn’t mind the drive because it was beautiful, just a little winding through the hills of Arkansas. But I had learned to love Arkansas and was always up for an adventure. Holiday Island, a neat little island located in the Ozark Mountains on Table Rock Lake near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was just the ticket. So we took our time driving up and even stopped for a quick, needed break from all the curves because I was a little nauseated and unfortunately my grandmother was too this time. Finally after hugging the hills, we arrived at the rental and were more than happy to get settled into our rooms to relax a bit.

My brother had already cooked up a late lunch/ early dinner for us, so we ate a bite and enjoyed our family’s company. After dinner we had walked down to the lake but my grandmother who never, ever complained about anything, asked if I had some tums and then Tylenol. This concerned me because she never took any kind of medication and very seldom complained.

She was more of the “don’t worry, be happy” generation for sure. She realized a long time ago that Jesus never worried or ran in His ministry, even though He had a lot to do during the short time He walked on this earth. He needed to save, heal and deliver a lot of people but he never got in a hurry or was anxious to get things done. In many instances Jesus took his time, even when children surrounded him or when the sick sought him out. In fact, many miracles happened because Jesus was interrupted while doing something else. Some might think that these interruptions shouldn’t have happened, but I think Jesus was just waiting for them to come to him because he already knew the need and wanted to meet them at their need.

This was the case with my grandmother too. He already knew the need and the outcome before we ever saw it.

So back at the rent house I dug through my suitcase to find my stash of over-the-counter medicines I always brought along on trips and I gave some to my grandmother. Then she took a much needed nap.

Meanwhile my sister-in-law was ready to go out on the boat for a ride. Then once we were on the boat, she was already planning on what to do next. I questioned how she ever enjoyed herself if she was only thinking of what’s next?

When we came back in for the evening, my grandma said she felt a little better and I was grateful.

The next morning, we got up early to go golfing and that afternoon we were going to catch the train in Eureka Springs to sight see.

We were only a few greens in when my sister-inlaw wanted us to hurry through the course so we could head to Eureka to shop before getting on the train. However, my grandmother had woken up not feeling well again; so she stayed at the house. Then that afternoon we all drove to Eureka to get on the train. As we waited for its arrival, I snapped a cute photo of my grandma patiently waiting on the bench outside the station.

The train ride was entertaining, but that was short-lived very quickly. By this time everything was beginning to feel a little off and hurried rather than relaxing. Sherry was ready to run to the next thing while I kept thinking “Why can’t we just stop and enjoy the moment?”

The ride was a little bumpy and that’s when my grandmother told me she was still in pain and couldn’t get comfortable. Now I knew something was terribly wrong. I told my brother and we decided to head to the nearest emergency room that happened to be in Berryville. It seemed like it took forever as they did tests and we waited for answers. Now, I was the one wanting to hurry up and know what was going on.

We had always been a family of faith, so it didn’t surprise me when my grandma kept reassuring us that no matter the report, Jesus already knew the outcome. However, nothing could’ve prepared us for the devastating news the doctor would deliver. Our precious grandmother had colon cancer and it had already spread to other organs causing the pain in her stomach and side.

As I felt a lump come up in my throat, I choked back tears as I tried to get the doctor to answer questions that he graciously tried to answer even though I didn’t want to really hear what came out of his mouth. He told us that she had maybe six months, and I remember feeling so angry at God. We had lost my dad only two years prior and why would He take my grandmother too.

Tears began to flow and I wanted to scream “Wait! Just wait one minute, God! We aren’t ready for this! We will never be ready!” Why was this happening? But the quiet and calm voice of my grandmother brought me back into focus as she caught my hand and looked me in the eye and said “I’ve had a long life and it’s been a good life with no regrets. So if God is ready to take me, I’m ready to go home.” Suddenly, the picture that I’d captured at the train station became clear in my mind. She hadn’t been waiting on a physical train; she had been waiting patiently on her heavenly train. She had outlived her husband by 20-plus years and even her only child, my daddy, by a couple years. Though she was in no hurry, she was ready for this trip and she didn’t even have to pack her bags.

Doctors back home confirmed six months or less, but Jesus was in no hurry and gave us a few more months. It’s funny how we always want to hurry things up until we realize our time is winding up and then we wish it would slow down.

I often wonder if this was why my grandmother had agreed to go on one last trip with us. Did she already know that she didn’t need to hurry anymore? She had walked in the will of God and was happy. Just like Jesus never hurried and was always present with whoever he was with, my grandmother had learned to do the same and was content even as she faced her last days on earth.

Now when I find myself being hurried or anxious about tomorrow I stop and think what my grandma would say “Don’t hurry child, just be happy in the moment and learn to live a life full of contentment.”

So we all should learn to live in the moment, and don’t hurry, just be happy.