Obey the Speed Limits of Life
January 10th, 2008 | by Ed |The longer I serve the Lord, the more I come to appreciate the wisdom of “obeying the speed limits of life.” Americans are suffering from stress, overload, burnout and fatigue in epidemic proportions.
Many people feel like Alice in Wonderland when she said, “It takes all the running I can do just to stay in place.”
As we move at an ever-accelerating rate of speed and complexity (”traveling at the speed of life”), our relationships are vaporizing and our faith is eroding. We’re increasingly flustered, flurried, hurried and worried. We’re tyrannized by the urgent and neglect what is ultimately important.
Maybe it’s time that we regained control of our lives and learned what Eugene Peterson calls “the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Prune some of the activity branches of your life (many of them are sucker branches that don’t produce fruit and sap life from the fruitful branches of your life). Restore margins to your life and schedule. Take time for reflection and personal renewal.
Rediscover the joy of your marriage and the wonder of childhood through the eyes of your children. Enjoy one of God’s greatest gifts–friends.
The world is waiting to smell the fragrance of a grace-filled life, not the sweat generated from living life in the fast lane.