Antonio happened to be in front of me on my way to work. Antonio (only known by his personalized license plate) was a white-haired older man with a ball cap driving a big Buick Lasabre. And, going 10 miles under the speed limit. “Come on now! Speed up!” Just when I felt my frustration kick in I remembered a blog that I read recently about “hurry sickness”. Our culture suffers from hurry sickness. Rushing to and fro. Multi-tasking at every turn…or stop light. The blog said you may have hurry sickness if you honk at the person in front of you for going too slow or switch lanes in the grocery to the shortest line to save a few minutes. Oh, me! Our culture, me included some days, can’t stand to wait or slow down.
I was on my way to work. I wasn’t running late. But, for some reason, I was still in a hurry. Until Antonio. He forced me to slow my pace for a few minutes. To think about why I was rushing. So, when we got to a four-lane section of the road, I chose to stay behind Antonio. I could have whipped out and passed him. But, I chose to set my pace a little slower.
By deliberately choosing that, I felt my soul breathe a little. Relax a bit.
It reminds me of the Message version of one of my favorite verses. Matthew 11:28-30:
Jesus said, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Jesus walked. He didn’t run or rush. When we set our pace with Jesus, when we walk with Him, He begins to slow our rushing soul – helping us take a real (much needed) rest. He teaches us the unforced rhythms of grace.
Our culture often forces us into a frantic pace; the rhythm of our lives is hurry. We pack more and more into our days. We overextend ourselves and our families. We can’t continue to keep up this pace without suffering some negative consequences.
We can, however, reset our pace…by taking time to walk with Jesus daily. Spend time alone in a quiet place…in prayer…in His word. Seeking His guidance for our life rather than the culture’s expectations. We can choose. We don’t have to suffer from hurry sickness. Instead, setting our pace with Jesus….thank you, Antonio, for the reminder.