Never, ever in my whole life have I wanted to do things the slow way.
I’m like Lightening McQueen as he meditates, “Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, 42 losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Maybe I should have had breakfast? Brekkie could be good for me. No, no, no, focus. Speed. Faster than fast, quicker. I am Lightning. Speed. I am Speed.”
Speed is especially my preference when it comes to facing hard situations in life. My strategy: focus my energy, take a big breath, and drive through that challenge AS FAST AS I POSSIBLY CAN. Then I dust off my hands as I look in my rearview mirror and pat myself on the back, feeling good about what I’ve accomplished.
I like this method. It has worked well for me.
I’m not sure if it’s my age, or a pile up of overwhelming life experiences, or if it’s just a good time to try something new. But I don’t feel like Jesus is leading me to the fastest way anymore.
We’re doing slow.
Slow solutions to problems, slow transitions, slow plans coming together, slow test results. Even the mail service is slow lately.
Slow. Slow. Slow.
I have to repeat that word a lot because it is a reality that I’m struggling to adjust to. Speed is the habit that rings within me. It is not eager or willing to give up its hold or its influence.
(See what I mean? Even the mental shift is slow.)
Today I went for a walk in my parents’ neighborhood. I started at a pretty quick clip. It was only a few minutes before I could feel within me the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudge to go slower. I felt the kindness of this invitation. It turns out that my body doesn’t enjoy fast as much as it once did. It’s just used to doing things that way.
I had to tell myself that there are more reasons to walk than exercise. Maybe this walk could offer me something else. It could be a practice in slowness.
Did you know that slowing is a spiritual discipline? One of the reasons we practice spiritual disciplines is so that when something happens outside our control, we are already acclimated to the concept. John Mark Comer in Ruthless Elimination of Hurry says it this way:
It’s wise to regularly deny ourselves from getting what we want, whether through a practice as intense as fasting or as minor as picking the longest checkout line. That way when somebody else denies us from getting what we want, we don’t respond with anger. We’re already acclimated. We don’t have to get our way to be happy.
Sure, sometimes when everything in life is slow, we need to find speed somewhere. By all means, in that situation, find a healthy outlet – walk fast, talk fast, clean fast. (I’ve been reading really fast lately.) Let it offer its relief.
But today, I was trying to let myself walk slowly as a means of communicating to my body that it was safe and there was no need to rush. I was repeating to myself, “Go. So. Slow.”
Then I came across a sign on the path. You’re not going to believe this. The sign said, GO SLOWLY. Sure, it was intended to help cyclists and pedestrians share the path, but clearly it was also intended for me.
I may have laughed out loud at the external reinforcement of the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudge. If there had been a doubt in my mind before, it was gone now.
We’re going slow.
And I can tell there’s kindness for me in that.
If you’re interested in the spiritual discipline of slowing, a quick Google search will offer plenty of resources. John Mark Comer, author of Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and Practicing the Way, is a popular voice on this topic.
Breathe Life Ministries 
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