Slowing Down- What Matters Most in Life

And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

1 John 2:17 NLT

Every day this week before work, I got up while the house was still dark and quiet, I pulled on my warm robe, and tiptoed out and lit a candle before curling under a big thick blanket to have some quiet reading time before the craziness of the day started. No, not really.

This week actually looked more like flying out of bed already rushing because I had hit the snooze button just “one” more time than I should have and managing my minutes carefully to make sure everyone (including me!) was up and out the door off to where they needed to be, when they needed to be. But the thoughts of quiet in the morning with a candle burning and being curled under a cozy blanket? Well that’s an image I aspire to, and one that I was reminded of by author Sally Clarkson, in her book, “Own Your Life.”

I don’t get up and light candles and enjoy quiet time in the morning. Why not? Well, because I don’t prioritize it, I suppose. I usually start my day by getting up and “getting going” whether that means writing, laundry, or rushing around getting ready to leave the house. I often value productivity over quiet and rest. I know I’m not the only one.

So often we tell ourselves that we simply cannot do something when in actuality we absolutely could-if we were willing to make the tradeoffs of other things that aren’t as important to us.

Starting at a very young age, my generation and the kids of this current generation, get involved in activities, good activities—from piano lessons, to hockey, to baseball, debate society—we get on a hamster wheel of business that many times we don’t even realize it. And this hamster wheel doesn’t stop just when the kids are finished with high school.

In this day and age, there are so many opportunities available to us. The online space has made many opportunities readily accessible to everyone that weren’t around even 15 or 20 years ago. Just as with all the extracurricular activities now available to our kids, it seems a shame not to try to take advantage of all this opportunity but…what if all this opportunity is robbing us from what we really want?

When we are so busy it is easy to neglect slowing down and really contemplating the life we are living. How many of us pile more and more on our plate, not because we find fulfillment in these activities, but to avoid having the space to think about why we feel unfulfilled in our already very full lives. After all, a full life is a life well lived, right?

Is your life full of the right things? When was the last time after a busy day, while it may have left you exhausted, also left you feeling fulfilled? Are your days full of the things that truly mean the most to you? Are you spending your time the way you really want to? Or do you keep thinking, “When things slow down then I’ll…”

Things are not going to slow down. If anything, things will continue to speed up. The devil knows that if he keeps us busy, distracted, racing from thing to thing—even if they are good things—that he will win.

Is this one and only life you’ve been given the one you really want to be living? Are the things you are pursuing a vain pursuit of more or are they life-giving to you and your family?

If you want memories filled with family game nights then you have to have enough down time to have family game nights. If you want to be a well-read person, then you have to make time to read. If you want to have a hobby, then you cannot be so busy that a hobby sounds like a drag.

Then there are our kids—what are we modeling for them when we skip church for a soccer game? When we cut out youth group for one more lesson. Do you want your kids to have a relationship with the Lord that they prioritize or do you want them to be really good at a sport that they will play through high school, possibly college, and then be done?

What tradeoffs are we making with our time without even realizing it?

This fall season I hope you slow down and reflect on your life this past year, not from a place of shame and guilt but from a place of empowerment. If you don’t like how your life is looking you are allowed to change it! What areas need an overhaul?

A new year is coming soon, and what I don’t want for you is to look back at the end of it and wish that it had been different. I hope you choose with intentionality tasks that make up your days, for it is every single day that makes up our lives.

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