Slow Down, Momma

“He has the supernatural ability to fill us, sustain us, calm us, refresh us, and give us peace in a world of chaos.”

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.” Matthew 14:13

I recently finished listening to the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.  Highly recommend, 10/10. Comer talks about how the pace of our lives isn’t the same as the pace in the world when Jesus walked the earth. We constantly have something in front of us, whether it’s a kid, our dishes, our phone, a spouse, church, school, everything. We live in a fast-paced, incredibly distraction-filled world where it’s hard to catch our breath. Can’t do anything slowly, because “slow” is a bad word. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

Oddly enough, while listening to this book I was also cooking dinner, learning a new recipe, and coaching my kids through conflict resolution (I feel like that’s a better way of saying “yelling at them to stop yelling at each other”). In the chaos of my hurry, I grabbed a utensil that had overheated on the stove and burned my hand, leaving blisters for over a week. It made me slow down. I had to step away, order pizza, take a breath.

Jesus had something more serious than a cooking mishap happen. While He was teaching and sharing His ministry, Jesus learned of the death of His cousin John. He could have rushed to where John was buried, hurried to meet with John’s disciples and friends. He could have buried Himself in His work and carried on like nothing had happened. 

But He didn’t. He slowed down.  

And He modeled the appropriate way to slow down when the chaos of life hits full force. He went to a solitary place to pray. He went to be with His Father. Our Father.  

We can’t always slow down the world around us. Jesus’ world didn’t slow down either, the crowd literally followed Him. He still went to be with the Father. We can seek refuge in the Father too.  He has the supernatural ability to fill us, sustain us, calm us, refresh us, and give us peace in a world of chaos. It might just be a minute, a quick prayer. Maybe you’re able to find a few more minutes. Whatever time you’re able to find, God will multiply it with peace and rest. He just wants you to come and bring it to Him. To slow down and remember His purpose isn’t to exhaust you, but to fill you.

Action Steps:

• Slow down. Breathe. Put your phone away. Do one thing at a time. 

• Read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. If you’re too busy to sit and read the book (see my joke there?), the audio version is on Libby.

Written by Barbara, a multi-tasking momma with band-aids on her fingers.

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