Flood of Hurry

"Hurry and love are oil and water; they simply do not mix."

-The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer

The other day as I was taking my usual route to work, I was on a one lane road. The people in front of me were going ten under the speed limit and I reminded myself that it was ok because in a few miles, the road opens up to two lanes. When I reached that point, I went to get up to the speed limit, and very quickly I realized that wasn't going to happen. Now there were two cars in both lanes going ten under the speed limit, making it impossible to pass either one of them. As I became increasingly frustrated that neither car was changing their speed at all and I felt stuck, I spoke out loud "what is going on with people today?" I was then reminded that while people were going slow, they weren't doing it intentionally to push my buttons. I took a deep breath and said "I think I'm getting tested in patience today." The entire rest of my drive I seemingly found every slow driver on the road and ended up behind them... yay :/

I took this time to reflect, not just in this moment, but in general what pace of life I was living. We are such a future focused culture. It's always "what's next?" and never fully enjoying and embracing what's now. I mean, when you think about it, it makes sense. Everything is instant in our world today. We are not growing in patience, every passing moment our patience is stripped, little by little. Instant communication. Instant gratification. Instant delivery. It is no wonder that sitting in a moment is not our forte. We live in a world that is flooded with hurry and lacking in the important things. Being flooded with hurry drowns out love, gratitude, truth, rest, God, and, if we let it, the fruit of the Spirit. Just like too much water will kill a plant, too much hurry will drown out God. We must come back to the basics. To the simplicities. I remember when I went on a mission trip to Ecuador and every person we talked to, we always asked if they had time to listen. Every person always had time. We would catch them obviously in the middle of something. About to run an errand, eat dinner, whatever, but they had time. We could all learn a lesson or two from that. Leave time. Have time for the unexpected things. There are so many future things I dream of having. Future moments I dream of living. But I wonder how much of today I've missed thinking about tomorrow. I don't want to miss so much of life right now because I was focused on things to come. While the future always seems brighter, today is a gift as well. And how sad if we missed out on all the Lord meant for us to live today. It should not be a "let's just get through another day so I can get closer to this future dream." Today is a dream. Today you are living out so many dreams that past you thought about. It should be a "let me live today to its fullest." I want to be someone who is known for how I sit in the beauty of today. Every day. In the beauty of all that I have and who I have to live it with. Future things are always a lot closer than we realize and when they come, we often miss the days before. So for now, let me soak up today and every day as it comes and goes. Yes, with all the ebbs and flows. All the twists and turns. All the highs and lows. Because every moment is worth living to its fullest. One day, these very moments you're walking in today will be memories you miss.

Referring to Comer's quote at the beginning, "Hurry and love are oil and water..." I believe there's truth to that. People who are in a rush do not usually respond to others politely. People who are in a rush can make other people feel like they're in the way. I don't want to live a life that pushes people aside because I'm trying to run through life just to make it to a future dream. I will get there when I'm supposed to, rushing is not the solution. We cannot force God's "timeline" to speed up. It is set and any control we try to take only leads to frustration, stress, and a waste of our efforts. I don't want to live a life lacking in love all because I was distracted in trying to hurry time. God doesn't drive. He leads and Psalm 23 explains God's leadership so well. It's peaceful, gentle, corrective, patient, calm. Rushing is not one of the qualities of how He leads. Rest in and soak up today because that's what you were meant to handle right now. Tomorrow will come. The future will come and it will all begin when it's supposed to. No sooner, no later, trust Him in that. And when we do, life gets a whole lot sweeter. Life lived His way is more peaceful, joy filled, and life giving than anything else. Live every moment intentionally.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

-Matthew 6:34