Why Are We In Such A Hurry?

We live a fast-moving society. We have places to go and people to see. We’ve got schedules to manage and things to accomplish. To-do lists need crossed off and tasks need to be completed. Even so, why are we in such a hurry?

hurry :: to move, proceed, or act with haste; a state of urgency or eagerness; hustle; scurry

Why are we in such a hurry?

Why are we compelled to live our days in a rush and on the fast track? Is it to get more done? To feel the rush of busy? To believe it makes us important?

Why do we hurry through our moments? Is it because we feel a sense of control when we do? A sense of I’ve got this? A feeling of if I don’t I will miss out?

If our pace isn’t rushed, our minds certainly are. We have become masters of multitasking, of planning ahead, of making lists and checking them twice.

We are in such a hurry!

But why? Friend, will you help me understand this? Will you help me understand myself? Because most days I’m the one who tends to be hurrying the most. I don’t mean to be, but hurry tends to be my natural speed.

Maybe that’s why I had such a time last spring when the pandemic hit and everything in my life came to a screeching halt. I found myself floundering here at home. Forced into an uncomfortable speed of slow, I didn’t know what to do or how to act. Nothing was familiar to me, not my schedule, not my pace, not my normal life.

Maybe you can relate?

Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to adjust to the slower pace of my life. I had no other choice! It felt refreshing, quite honestly, to be forced off the hamster wheel of life and compelled to take a hard look at how I was living. My life was good and I was grateful, but the pace had been too much and too fast. It was time for a change.

I began to enjoy my days at home, working from my office, taking part in Zoom calls from my own desk. I read more, relaxed more, and found a new unhurried rhythm. Mornings were slow, days were peaceful, evenings were quiet. All the while I wrote, I worked, I lived, and I loved. Looking back now, it truly was a beautiful season.

As restrictions are lifting and schedules are adjusting, the pace is picking up again. I don’t want to return to the pace as I was keeping before. I don’t want to be known as the woman who is always in such a hurry. Maybe you don’t want to be known as that women, either.

So, what do we do? How do we slow things down?

Friend, in order for us to keep a slower pace–in our feet and in our minds–we must be intentional. It’s going to take us intentionally slowing things down. Our walk, our thoughts, our words, our actions. It’s going to take a conscious effort to live differently than the world lives. To think differently than the world thinks. To believe differently than the world believes.

Because if we don’t, we will miss the joy that’s right in front of us. We will likely miss the good God has planned for us, and the gifts He is placing right in front of us. We will overlook the sweet moments with our children, the special smile from a friend, the beautiful flower poking through the crack in the sidewalk. All because we were in such a hurry.

Getting excited about something without knowledge isn’t good. It’s even worse to be in a hurry and miss the way.

Proverbs 19:2 NIRV

Let’s slow things down today. What if we walked our errands instead of running them? What if we actually drove the speed limit (not five over like I do)? Could we pause long enough to notice what’s around us? To notice the budding trees, the neighbor who is waving from across the street, the person next to us at the stop light. To not be such a hurry in wishing time away but appreciating the moments we are given? Let’s choose a different way to live. Slower. More intentional. Meaningful. Unhurried.

Take a big breath with me. Let’s do this. As they say, slow and steady wins the race.

Much love,

photo: Fotorech on Pixabay

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