HURRY UP AND SLOW DOWN

Life in the Fast Lane

I’ve started to feel my age catching up with me. While my body is holding up or at least holding on, my mind seems to want to skip over what it considers unnecessary details. The little things that mean so much are the ones most often overlooked. I find myself wanting to catch these moments and hold onto them forever.

Moments like enjoying an early morning coffee and Bible study with my husband. Moments shared with my daughter when we take a lunch break at our office or do a workout together. These are the moments I live for, yet, they are easily lost in the busyness of life. While I participate in them, I am not always "present" in them. My "to-do" list is calling.

Life need not be in such a hurry. But hurry, it does. Tick tock. That wretched clock grinds on me like water slowly dripping from a leaky faucet. My list of "to-dos" has been replaced with a longer one of "save-it-for-later's". After all, there’s plenty of time to get it done tomorrow, right?

There is more of an urgency these days to find meaning and purpose in my life. I want to be remembered for more than just the inattentive wife and worried mom my husband and kids have come to know me as. I want to be remembered as the cool mom. You know, the one whose house everyone wants to hang out at? Okay, it’s a little late for that. But it’s not too late to slow down and take a chill pill. For this go-getter, the struggle is real.

I guess I want to do both. Get it all done without wasting needless time and effort, plus be super suave while doing it. But part of learning, I’m not as young as I used to be. It is accepting that multi-tasking while on medicines wears me out. Actually, the thought of it wears me out. After all, this is a marathon, not a sprint, right?

How do we do it all and, at the same time pace ourselves to endure the race set before us?

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)

Getting Ready

I hope I have many more years ahead of me. Years in which I will be cleansed and purged of the stuff that I thought made me who I am. Years that will ready me for my departure and prepare me to meet Jesus face-to-face. Years that will remind me of what’s really important.

While I wait, the closer I get to meet my Savior, the more I realize the ticking clock doesn’t matter as much as I thought it did. His plans for me are infinite and eternal. He will finish the work He started in me, no matter how long it takes me to get it right.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

Are you starting to feel like the clock is ticking faster than ever? I sure do. But we don't have to be in a constant state of hurry, do we? As we grow older, if life has taught us anything, it is to stop and smell the roses. Here are some changes I will do my best to implement in my life as I enter my golden years.

- I will practice gratitude daily

- I will be a worshiper, not a worrier.

- I will spend time regularly in quiet solitude

- I will be careful how I think and speak about my situation.

- I will say "yes" more and "no" less to new opportunities.

- I will practice patience.

- I will be "present" when engaging with others.

- I will obey God no matter the cost.

Making the Most of Your Days

Now some of you reading this may be thinking, "Hey! Wait a minute! I am not that old yet. Why are you talking about aging so much?” The reality is that no matter what decade we are in, life passes us by quickly. The Bible tells us our lives are but a vapor. So, even though we may have a very long life ahead of us, we must realize that time still passes by more quickly than we expect.

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James 4:14 (ESV)

God gives us 24 hours, 1440 minutes and 86,400 seconds each day. How would you like to spend yours? Laughing or crying, angry or happy, stressed-out or chilling out? Do you want to spend it giving or taking? Forgiving or bitter? Selfish or selfless?

As you think about your life, take time to reflect on what matters most to you. Family? Friends?

Success? Money? Career? Take a few minutes to pray and ponder what you place as a priority in your life. What do you think about the most? Who or what do you hold closest? When I ask myself these questions, it's quite eye-opening.

I am choosing not to waste another second of my day worrying about things I can't control, complaining about stuff that doesn't matter, or doubting the goodness of God in my life.

As I mature I am no longer concerned so much with what others think of me. I want to know what the Lord says about how I am living my life. I no longer live to please people. Instead, I want to love them as Christ loves me. It is my hope that I will please my Lord and Savior more with each passing day. May this be your prayer as well.

"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." Matthew 25:23 (ESV)

Dear Lord,

Even though it seems time is going by too quickly, help us keep our eyes on You, not the clock. Your plan for us is for our good. We choose to make the most of every opportunity You put before us and embrace each day with joyful anticipation. Thank You for teaching us to wait with hopeful expectation for your return.

-Colossians 3:5-10

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.