When Things Slow Down...

How many times do we hear these words in a day, week, or even in a month? When it slows down, we will get one project or another done. When it slows down, we'll be back to having "normal" evening routines. When it slows down... The list of things that will happen "when it slows down" grows longer each time we say it.

I won't lie, I have days where these words drive me crazy, and days where they just make me laugh. We say them, all the while knowing that things won't slow down. Sure, in the winter we get to go to bed earlier, or have suppers at an earlier time, but things aren't "slower", they just play out differently than in the warmer seasons.

During life's busiest seasons, there is something we need to remember. If we feel overwhelmed, as if we can't handle it, or life is just moving too fast, take a break. Ask for help, take a night and rest, or an afternoon, give yourself space and a break. Even when things are crazy, we can't do it all. We need to breathe and take time to enjoy the life we were given.

I'm preaching to the choir with what I just said. I struggle (particularly at home) with asking for help. If I don't have time to get something done, it will sit and build, and build, and I will get stressed to the max worrying about it not getting done. Yet, I don't want to ask for help because in my mind, it is my job to get certain things done. It's something I don't fully understand, and am working on with myself. Asking for help when I'm stressed, while trying to leave the guilt of asking behind. There's no need to feel guilty for asking for a hand up, especially if it is from someone that you love, and who loves you.

All that being said, there is someone who is always going to be there for us, if we just learn to lean on Him first. The Lord is with you and I, and He will never leave us. When we get tired, anxious, or just don't know how to slow down, we need to take it all to Him. There's no particular way to pray and express your feelings, just talk to Him as you would to those you confide in. He knows your troubles and if we turn them over to Him, and leave them to Him, He will give us that peace we need.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28