“The time, always the time, I’m an amateur trying to beat time. The six kids rouse. We race. The barn… and hurry. The breakfast… and hurry. The books, the binders…and hurry! In a world addicted to speed, I blur the moments into one unholy smear. I have done it. I do it still. Hands of the clock whip hard. So I push hard and I bark hard and I fall hard and when their wide eyes brim sadness and their chins tremble weak, I am weary and I am thin clear skin, reflecting their fatigue, about to burst, my eyes glistening their same sheer pain. The hurry makes us hurt. And maybe it is the hurt that drives on? For all our frenzied running seemingly toward something, could it be that we are in fact fleeing – desperate to escape pain that pursues? Whatever the pace, time will keep it and there’s no outrunning it, only speeding it up and pounding the feet harder; the minutes pound faster too. Race for more and you’ll snag on time and leak empty. The longer I keep running, the longer the gash, and I drain, bleed away. Hurry always empties a soul.” –Ann Voskamp
Are you in a hurry today?
I am… always rushing, trying to get it all done. Have you ever uttered the words, “oh, if there were just more hours in the day?” I have, but really I don’t want more hours in the day. I’ll still be tired at 6 PM and look forward to bed at 9PM, that extra hour would only blend into the crazed running that already exists in my life.
I just want to make the best use of the time that I have, not wish for more. And this causes me to examine just how my time is spent… is it on what’s most important? On what God has lain before me?
Mark Buchanan says… “Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, like in the wake of all the rushing… through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.”
I don’t want to miss what’s right in front of me because of all the rushing around. These children. This husband. The very blessings and ministries that He gave to me first.
God has placed a new and deep burden within my heart to stop the hurry for them, to give myself to them and not rush past it all, because time... this thing I chase incessantly is the very thing that has no trouble passing me by.
God has placed a new and deep burden within my heart to stop the hurry for them, to give myself to them and not rush past it all, because time... this thing I chase incessantly is the very thing that has no trouble passing me by.
I want to slow-it-down and “live fully, right where I am”
What about you? What has hurry done for you?
Continuing on with Multitudes on Mondays…
20. family fun nights
21. adults who are kind to my children
22. husband’s vulnerable side
23. roasted vegetables
24. mr. man’s love of reading and The Magic Treehouse books
25. how they (my kids) do love each other… sometimes
26. books
27. Netflix… for access to old, wholesome movies and shows
28. anticipation
29. online banking
30. finding encouragement at the click of a mouse :)
Oh Heidi I agree. If I had more hours I would still feel rushed and still be tired at the same time. But I desire to make the most of the time I do have and do all I can to glorify God. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I don't want to waste time either. We never get those moments back :)
ReplyDeleteMy, my dear you have so much to do in one day, one would first say how does one do it? But even in all the things that you have multitudes to do. God doesn't want you to rush and worry about getting them all done. I know they are important to you and must be done, but if I can share with you what happen to me hopefully this will encourage you. I use to be just like you whatever was on my desk I had to get it done, I would miss lunch all because I wanted to get everything done in one day. What I found out was I was making everyone else irritable to be around me, all because I felt I had to get everything done so my attitude wasn't pleasant and people didn't like that. I ended up stressing myself out so much I had a nervous breakdown. One thing I learned about that breakdown was that God was showing me that He gives us all the time we need in a day to do things and most of what I thought had to be done in one day did not have to be done that same day, it could of waited. Now when my plate is full I ask myself one question before I touch anything. If what I do today what would really be important? What really matters at the end of the day? I have to say it has worked I don't try anymore to get it all done in one day, I do what matters and the rest get done another day. Or I ask some to help me but I promised myself I will never allow myself to be put in that state of mind ever again. My health means to much to me! Sorry this was long but I wanted to share it. Have a bless day my dear.
ReplyDeleteoh yes, I can so relate! I can all too often be heard saying, "Hurry, we are gonna be late." I feel like I am always rushing around...if not physically, then in mind.
ReplyDelete:) Praying that I can slow it down a few gears!
Stopping to notice others while everyone else rushes by... That's what I want to make sure I do. Notice. Listen. Slow down. I love this "the thing I chase.. Time has no trouble passing me by." great post!! Great reminder today to slow down our million mile a minute days!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I can relate to this as well Heidi. I'm a recovering (slowly.. lol) schedule-driven individual, and when something runs behind it makes me rush to get things back on track. In that rush, I know there have been moments I've missed, subtle joys I've blown by and insights I've glossed over. With God's help, I've learned to let go of that structure a little and "stop and smell the roses", but I certainly am a work in progress.
ReplyDeleteAnd as always, your list is wonderful. :-)
Have a Blessed Day!
Heidi, thanks you for this much needed reminder,, slow down.. who really cares if my floor boards are clean? Who cares if every things not done (it never is anyway) I feel rushed to check off my must do list, and frazzled to add in my want to list. I wish sometimes I were lazier haha..wish i could sit still and be in the moment...some days I can but most days are a blurrr.... i really needed this today,, as I've run empty..time to refocus! I need to step back into Jesus and rest. Have a blessed day...
ReplyDeleteTime goes by so quickly! Before you know it, the little ones you are chasing around the house today are all grown up. I need to remember that there is nothing more important than time with my family. Nothing I do for them is as important as time spent with them. Love your list!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I feel a little better now that school is out and things aren't quite so frazzled but as we gear up to go on a missions trip, things are indeed still busy. I'm constantly trying to slow our life down. :)
ReplyDeleteHurry has never done a thing for me except given me indigestion...
ReplyDelete