slow down...

John 20:3-8 (especially 7)
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

The handkerchief is an interesting detail to the resurrection story. The fact that it was folded and laid by itself suggests a couple of things. First, it suggests that Jesus body was not stolen away in a rush. Thieves don't bother to fold what they leave behind. Second, it reflects a common tradition of the day. Someone who got up from a meal with the intention of returning to finish would neatly fold his napkin and leave it by itself so that other would know he was returning. Jesus was reassuring His disciples that He was still in control, nobody took his body and He was coming back.
So often God gives us these little signs of reassurance. Unless we stop rushing around, hiding in upper-rooms and avoiding life's tombs of fear... we may never catch them. God is always communicating to and reassuring His children. The question is whether or not I'm willing to go there, slow down enough to see it and bold enough to see past my fears.

God slow me down enough to hear from You today. Amen.