Alive: Lent DevotionalsSample

Alive: Slow down

Perfectionism. Busyness. People pleasing. These are the idols I find myself clinging to. A constant need to succeed and impress informs my decisions, lifestyle and relationships. While indulging these idols can bring a short-lived buzz, ultimately they leave me feeling drained, disconnected and lifeless.

The Lord’s call to slow down is welcome. In slowness, there is time to check in with ourselves, those around us and God. To ask if our lifestyles are sustainable – for our own mental health, the good of our relationships and the future of creation.

Slowing down forces me to consider if I am living well. The creator invites me into an abundance which is about more than personal achievements. It is a life of connection: with people, with the planet and the One who breathes hope into my being.

Prayer:

Creator God,

Release me from my obsessions with busyness and perfectionism – or anything that takes up too much room in my life. Teach me Lord how to live well on this Earth and care for all You have made. Bring abundance of life to all, and help me to give energy and hope to those I encounter. Amen.

Author: Katherine Maxwell-Rose, Writer, speaker and activist