I am a speed walker. Anyone who knows me knows I like to get where I’m going at a fast pace. Maybe you don’t know me, and you’ve seen a 5’1 brunette darting through the mall and you’ve wondered to yourself, “she must have somewhere important to go” … in reality, I don’t.
Slow walking is painful to me. You’re twice my size? I’ll still get where I’m going faster than you with half the leg-length. There is nothing more frustrating than getting caught behind a group of slow walkers with minimal space to pass.
I find myself doing the same thing with life altogether. I’m running through seasons of life. I’m zooming through moments I’m meant to sit in because I’m eager to get to the next. I find myself rushing and hurrying myself along, pressuring myself to keep moving. The thing is, I’m not sure what this “next” is that I’m so eager to get to.
“I think my hurry in life comes from a place of fear. Fear of missing out on the things that I’m supposed to experience or missing out on people I’m supposed to meet and know and love. I’m afraid that if I spend too much time here, I’ll miss out on the things that are ahead. I’m afraid someone else will beat me to it. ”
I think my hurry in life comes from a place of fear. Fear of missing out on the things that I’m supposed to experience or missing out on people I’m supposed to meet and know and love. I’m afraid that if I spend too much time here, I’ll miss out on the things that are ahead. I’m afraid someone else will beat me to it.
This is what my journal is filled with and what I feel the Lord is teaching me in this season:
No one can take away the things God has in store for you. You can’t run any faster to them, and you can’t push them away by digging your heels in. You don’t need to run; you don’t need to race ahead fearing that someone will take your seat before you get there. God has your spot reserved, holding it tightly and saving it just for you. In the meantime, he is preparing you for the day when you finally arrive, sit down, and get to enjoy all the things he has saved especially for you. The table is set, and there is a RESERVED sign with your name on it.
I picture my life as a hike being led by a wise tour guide who is the only one that knows where we are going. I can try my best to look ahead and see what’s coming, but at the end of the day I really have no idea. I can try my best to run on in front and get things moving more quickly, but I can only go as fast as my guide is taking me.
So why should I run? Why should I hurry on to the next thing when He is walking right beside me? Would you run ahead of the only person who knows the path ahead? With all its turns and curves and unknowns. Would you leave your guide in the dust? If I do that, the only place I find myself is completely lost.
May I learn what it means to trust the one who walks with me, showing me where to go. May my focus be on keeping pace with and walking closely with the one who leads me.
Maybe at the end of the day, where I’m going doesn’t matter if I don’t know the one who is taking me there.
Yours in slowing down and enjoying the journey,
—Riley