Doing or BeingSample

Slowing Down in a Busy World

God had gently been telling me to slow down. I remember Him first telling me this while on a walk in the woods. For the first time in my memory, there was a turtle in my path. In my heart, I heard, “Remember the childhood story of the tortoise and the hare?” I felt a calling, an urging, to slow down. 

I didn’t. 

Slowing down was too foreign for me because the world tells us to be busy all the time. Slowing down was the opposite of who I knew myself to be. The absence of activity meant I would have to discover who I was. The Lord was inviting me to come out of hiding. 

God sought after me through people in my life. My brother told me about the importance of pausing while running a race. He said that when he runs a 10K without stopping for water, he finishes slower. Yet, the pause for water allows him to finish the race faster. 

Golly! God was being clear. “Refuel in me, my daughter,” my Heavenly Father was saying.

Again, I didn’t listen. God didn’t give up either. Next, I felt called to create an art collage about slowing down. I made time to find images that meant slowing down for me – a candle, blanket, and bathtub. Those cutouts went unglued.

I was so busy rushing through life that I didn’t even finish collaging a page about slowing down. I heard God whisper, “A daughter needs time with her Father. I want time to work on you, mold you, restore you.”

Little did I know that God was inviting me to slow down; if I didn’t, He’d be slowing me down Himself. 

Key Takeaways:  

• Notice the signs God puts in your life   
• Slow down, even if it’s uncool to the world    
• Is your routine busyness a way to help you hide from something you are not dealing with today?

Prayer: 

Father, thank You for opening my eyes. Thank You for speaking to me throughout my day. Use the people in my life and Your Word to guide me. Father, help me to see that You are always with me. Thank You for never leaving me.