What makes you slow down?
I’m not talking about illness or family crises which turn life into a slow motion video. Nor am I talking about fatigue build-up from tension-filled days of juggling too many have-to’s.
What makes you think more slowly, feel more deeply, listen to God more closely? What does it take to make you slow your life down so that you actually live to be more than do?
I’m asking myself that question after a planned slow-down week where bicycling became the feature activity of the day. I reveled at how the wind in my face freed my mind. While September teased us with a morning chill and opened an oven door to share afternoon heat, I slowed down. The start of fall color while green still reigned reminded me that change is a part of the intended rhythm of life. I found myself thinking with a reality-based clarity.
Maybe I need a sign in front of my office door that says “Slow Down; God’s Child at Work.” What I am learning is that if I want to reflect what God wants me to do, I have to be living slowly enough to turn around immediately, change my priorities, re-order tasks, or skip what I thought was important. I have to be able to see beyond my lap top and to-do list, beyond deadlines and demands, hear beyond my own thoughts into a reality that God orders for my benefit.
I can’t slow down all day. You probably can’t either. But I think I could slow down for five minutes. I think I could drink a cup of coffee in front of the window and breathe in God’s beauty. I think I could take five minutes when I’m not pushing my mind to do more and draw my quiet circle so I can listen to what God wants me to hear.
I would like to know how much more life I have time for.
What about you?