The Need for Speed

Have you ever had a moment in life when you looked up and thought to yourself ‘Who’s life am I living?’ (and not in a dreamy, beach resort with a butler kind of way). I’m talking about those moments when you realize that life is passing you by and you’re making decisions on a whim and moving faster than you ever imagined possible.  The moments when you realize that the everyday life you are walking out in worn out shoes and a weary heart is not the one you imagined, hoped for, prayed about, or planned.

Those pressing moments offer a swift kick to the pants and a jolt to the soul that can knock an insanely organized, overly analytical, self-reliant person to their knees. The kind of person (not me, of course) who thinks they have quite a few things under control until all of the things begin to crumble a bit.

I hope it’s not just me who has found myself headed 50 miles in the wrong direction, speeding down the proverbial road of life before I even noticed. Please, someone tell me it’s not just me.

Actually, I know it’s not just me. I see it in more faces than not these days. I see it in the eyes of tired mommas and the misbehavior of little children. I hear it in the words of disconnected daddies and heartbroken friends. I feel it in the grip of age covered hands and the white knuckled grip of not letting go. It’s all around us…evidence that many of us are walking out our lives at a pace we were never intended.

One of the greatest ploys of the enemy is to speed us up to such an unsustainable pace that everything outside of our windows becomes a blur and everything inside becomes chaos. We buy the cheap lie that we have to “keep up” and then we run so quickly we can’t really even see where we’re headed.

We live hurried, tired, and stressed…badges of honor in a broken world.

We live busy, overbooked, and unsatisfied…evidence of ill placed priorities.

We live blending into culture when we are actually called to “not be conformed to this world.” (Romans 12:2)

I have fallen prey to this scheme so frequently that I now find myself fighting slow motion battles with calculated actions that often only require me to find my knees and open hands. I have become busied with the art of slowing down. I am being re-trained, through the love and grace of God, on some of life’s most basic skills.

I still know how to breathe, of course, but am being trained on how to breathe in the deeper moments with a kind of soul satisfaction that can only come from surviving the trials of a brow beaten world.

I still know how to walk, but am being trained to once again be the girl who slows down to chat with a friend and hear them out on the question of “How are you?” Retraining yourself to walk in stride with the Lord and with those He has encircled your life with is a bit like watching a toddler learn to walk. There is a lot of bravery required for each step, a lot of falling, and a whole lot of excitement when the steps begin to take you somewhere. 

I still know how to see, but am being trained to see beyond the surface. Peering into moments with bated breath and eyes hoping to see more than what meets the eye. Gazing into what is and daring to imagine what could be.

I am unlearning and relearning with the breath and dawn of each new day.

As followers of Jesus, there comes a time when we must unlearn the poorly established habits of the world and learn Kingdom patterns and Kingdom principles that will lead us into the way everlasting. The time for me is now and I wonder when it is for you?

When will you take a long look in the mirror and stare into the evidence of your life to discover what road you are actually on? When will you look out of the window into your surroundings to notice the speed at which you are travelling?

We must unlearn the patterns of behavior that only earn us fleeting badges of honor and be trained in the patterns of Kingdom life that lead us into the joy of eternity.

Let us take a long look at our lives and from there decide whether to slow down, turn around, detour, or build a whole new road.

If life is indeed a highway, then perhaps as Kingdom people, we should be counter cultural and walk awhile. We can’t very well serve the people along our path if we can’t see them and we certainly can’t see them if we’re moving too quickly.

After all, when you’re lost you always drive slower in an effort to find your way. So let us slow down to notice what lies along our path so we can help the lost find THE WAY.

© Dani Hardy, January 19, 2020

The Need for Speed