Sometimes I fear I’ve spent most of my life in a hurried state, always trying to get things done, missing valuable opportunities to stop and encourage someone and listening to noise instead of stillness. In the busyness of life, precious moments are hurried by in order to get to the next event or check off an item on the to-do list. I heard this quote by St. Francis De Sales and I can’t get it out of my head:

Never be in a hurry. Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

I laugh writing the statement above because I fail it almost everyday. There always seems to be something small that messes up my morning or my afternoon. Tiny things that have no eternal significance tend to rock my day and steal my joy. I often try to hurry God up when all the while He is trying to get me to slow down.

One thing I’ve been learning is that dreams cannot be hurried. God is the Author of all dreams that glorify Him and He is not in a rush. He isn’t worried about things getting done on time. As a matter of fact, He lives outside the boundaries of time. Each day we are stuck in the realm of 24 hours. No matter who you are, you have no more hours than the next person. We are finite creatures. We have limits (though we try to live like we don’t). Yet my heart rejoices in the fact that God is infinite. He has no limits. He is not bound by time. When He places a dream in my heart, it is for my good and His glory. Dreams that are authored by God take time to grow. The slower the growth, the deeper the roots and more glory He gets when it comes to life.

Don’t hurry today. Don’t rush your dreams. Don’t rush your life or your work. When your husband comes in from work, stop everything you are doing and greet him with love, showing him that he is most important. When your friend calls and needs to talk, stop what you are doing and listen. When the rain is falling gently on the ground outside, choose to see the beauty in God’s gift of refreshment.

God is capable of giving you back the time that you would have hurried past when you just slow down. Who knows? You may get more done on your to-do list if you choose to be still for a moment, recognize He is God, and then go forward recognizing that our life is about making much of Him and not getting things done.

your sister,

Gretchen