Learning to slow down has been tough for me. It is easy for me to get ahead of myself and not think through important details. I can be rather impatient. I want to get to the finish line now and simply want others to join me in getting there. Sometimes things need to get literal for me to notice.

I was simply trying to get some laundry done. I bent down in the bathroom to pick up some clothes off the floor oblivious to the open cupboard door above me. I stood up, full force, into the corner of the door. I let out a yelp loud enough to bring my husband up from downstairs. I was unstable and in a lot of pain.

I expected to be a little slow the next day, but completely underestimated my recovery. Muscles down my back had locked up and my brain needed time to heal. I tried working at a normal level, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. A trip to the chiropractor was very helpful, but couldn’t address mental exhaustion, the impact of lights and screens, and being quick to overwhelm.

It took about a week for my mind to catch up with everything my body had been trying to tell me. Slow down and listen was the message. It a similar message that God is often sending me and It, also, can take a long time for me to get the message..

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV).

I struggle to slow down and wait for the Lord. It’s when I’m out in front, weary and weak, that I stop and listen. This is less likely to happen when I’m in a regular practice of listening, in a regular practice of slowing my mind and body to hear.

Are you able to slow down and listen? Do you get ahead of yourself? What practices help you listen? Share your experience here and breathe life and bring hope to others.