The Un-Hurried Life

I find I am drawn to un-hurried people. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm the opposite - and I wish I was more like them.

Unhurried moms take the time to explain to their kids where they are going. Hurried moms tell their children to get in the car and they'll find out soon.
I think the children of the unhurried mom learned a bit more about their city, streets and addresses.

Unhurried women take the time to chat with a tired sales clerk, and brighten her day. Hurried women rush in and out, glancing at their watches, and tapping their nails on the counter if there's a delay.
I think the sales clerk got a touch of Jesus from that unhurried woman.

Unhurried women tell their friends in a non-verbal way that they have time for them. Hurried women's friends often feel as if they are a bother.
I think the friends of an unhurried women are blessed indeed.

Unhurried women think about how to show love to others - whether it's picking out the right gift, a hand-written note of encouragement or a phone call. Hurried women wish they had picked out the right gift, written a note or made that phone call.

I love John Ortberg's take on hurry in his book "The Life You've Always Wanted." Ortberg says:

"The most serious sign of hurry sickness is a diminished capacity to love. Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is one thing hurried people don't have."

The solutions are simple, yet difficult to incorporate into a life that is addicted to hurry. For those of us who hurry out of habit, we must choose to slow down. We must choose to speak slowly, to walk slowly, and to eat slowly. We must get up 30 minutes earlier so that we aren't rushing our kids in the morning. We must have dinner in the crockpot so we can sit and read a book with a child, or chat with our husbands on the patio. We must not schedule business appointments so close together that we don't have time to ask a co-worker how his or her family is doing.

Some of us have a hurry sickness that we must address if we are to live the grace-filled lives that Jesus calls us to live.

So take a deep breath, let it out slowly, take a moment to pray, and enjoy an un-hurried day.

In His Love,
Glynnis