Slowing

Whenever I preach on something, God seems to really go to work on me the week before. The other week I preached on love, primarily about the need to allow ourselves to be interrupted by others. Guess what happened the week before? It makes me want to be careful about what I choose to speak on. I’m preaching on slowing soon. This is a pet topic for me. I remember a low point a couple of years ago when I envied a pastor I knew who was in the hospital, and who later died. I envied him because he had escaped his crazy schedule. The moment this thought entered my mind, I realized that I needed to change. I still recall that thought and shake my head in amazement. I guess I’m still looking for the easy yoke and the light burden. I had lunch with a pastor friend today. We were comparing notes and agreed that ministry looked a lot better when we thought the weeks would stretch out in front of us. In reality, it’s hard to keep the main thing the main thing – to make time for people, to take time to think, to keep the big picture in view. It’s easy to get sucked into management. I’m not complaining, because I’m in an easier situation than others. But it’s still a struggle to slow, to be still, to live life at a sane pace. I don’t want to wait until retirement to find a sustainable pace.