Slow Down
Recently, my wife and I took a road trip through the Pacific Northwest for our two year marriage anniversary. We saw amazing sites and weird people, ate incredible food and donuts, and had the privilege of staying with awesome, generous, and loving people in every place we stopped. Overall, as I look back on the trip, I cannot believe how slow and quick it was at the same time.
It is astounding to me how rapid our pace can be in our culture. From the workplace to the household to the speed limit signs on the road, our rushed mentality is a crippling reality. As we drove along the 5 for miles and miles, we realized at different portions of the road how fast or slow we were traveling. Without much traffic, our cruising speed was always escalating, wanting to get to the next location even though we were not in a ‘hurry’. With traffic, we recognized the slowness of our traveling and wanted to get out of the rigor of being present without knowing what our timing would be like.
As we exited our car in the beautiful landscapes of trees, farmlands, and mountains, we trekked in the consistent reminder of God’s presence. From the wind blowing water formations over the untouched lakes of Washington to the breathtaking views of the unknown shades of green in perfectly symmetric hillsides, we witnessed the constant rhythms of the Spirit’s breath. It’s a breath that is just as prevalent in the homeless of Portland as it is in the beauty of the sun setting over the golden brown hills of Ashland. It’s the image of a God who created us to abide, remain, and continue in the love that He is and that we were made for.
Last year I was honored and privileged to read a book called Soul Keeping by John Ortberg. He writes about the importance of soul care and in this writing talks about the ways in which one can take care of the soul. He writes about an experience with Dallas Willard in which Dallas tells him that in order to be spiritually healthy one must “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from their life.” I found that in this road trip, I was constantly reminded of this lesson on slowing down. I was persistently remembering the essence of what I was created for: love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul explains the characteristics and attributes of love. The first quality of love is patience. As I have been reflecting on patience and love, it is comical to me how frustrating it is to pray for more love, because in doing so we are praying for more patience. Opportunities arise for patience and love, and again we come back to the status of what we were created for.
As we passed a certain speed limit sign, I heard the Lord speak something about our rate of travel. I heard, felt, and experienced throughout the trip that “we were not built to operate at unsafe, insecure, unaware, unintentional or conforming speeds. Our manual is about love and love does not hurry. Love is patience.” It’s easier said than done, but I believe the patience of love is the glory of being present in God’s presence.
In love, we move from nothing to everything, from partiality to fullness, and from potential to reality. The travel speed of love is not what our world defines as the most efficient or highest rate of movement, but the grace of love’s pace is that we are found in present patience. Hurry is not on the agenda, and we are enabled to be aware of things untouched, unseen, and not yet experienced.
The activity of love is one in which slowness is embraced like the secluded lakes of Washington, like the interesting people walking in different rates, and like the presence of our present Lord who continues to empower us to eliminate hurry. Slow down steady traveler, our velocity is set in love and patience. Love does not give speed limits, but speed freedoms. And freely today, I choose the progress of love. What will your choice be?
