These are foreign words to me. Slow down….. If you have ever ridden in a car with me, you know that I don’t drive fast, I fly low. I seriously have a lead foot. The good or maybe not so good news is: it’s totally genetic. My dad and his whole side of the family are natural speeders. So, I will now officially blame my problem on genetics. Only Kidding, Dad.

While, I do totally need to slow down in a vehicle, that isn’t the idling I’m truly talking about.

I’m a mom and a dad to 3 amazing kiddos.. If I do say so myself… And being 2 people isn’t an easy task. I find myself constantly rushing, hurrying, and moving from one thought to the next without ever actually putting thought into the equation at all. It becomes habit after a while. You become immune to chaos and disorder. As if that’s all we were created to do. There is always something to get done, somewhere we have to go, a meal that has to be made, laundry to be folded, baths to be given, a house to clean, and the list goes on and on. Until my life becomes exactly that.. A LIST. Everything just becomes a task to accomplish. I, too often have sat down with my children to work on homework or to color, but my heart isn’t in the activity, my thoughts are going ninety to nothing on all the other things I have to check off my list before I get to bed. Spending time with my loved ones isn’t or shouldn’t ever be on a list. Because while I can say, “CHECK! I spent 20 minutes reading with my kiddos.” I couldn’t tell you what the story was about because I was too busy waiting for the 20 minutes to be done, so I could move to the next item on the list.

I’ve made one thousand too many mistakes rushing through life. Thinking about the right now, instead of the consequences and ramifications my actions may have on my future – On my kid’s future. I am now living some of those consequences from past rushing around, and only thinking of myself. I see now with much clearer vision, the pain of living a hurried life.

God longs to give us peace, and to ease our fears and worry. But, he can’t remotely be heard over the constant rushing around. Jesus urges us to slow down, to take time with Him, in His word. He promises to take care of us. But there again, He can’t do that if we aren’t taking the time to be in His presence. Our time with our Savior shouldn’t be on a check list. He isn’t a box to be checked off. He is our father, He is our maker, and He demands all of us.

It’s quite easy to go through life just checking boxes, but are you really living? Are you really giving your all to the people who love you? If helping another person is merely a box to complete, did you really reflect your Savior? Did you really pour love on to your children as you mentally were thinking of all the tasks to complete, instead of listening to the Little Bear book your child was reading to you? The answer is NO. God knows the very nature of our hearts, and he pleads for us to be Christ-like. In order to be more like Christ, we have to be less like us. We need to turn our eyes to Jesus, and ask that His will be done, instead of “Lord, let me get through these 36 things on my to-do list, so I can sleep peacefully tonight, Amen.”

I’m challenging myself to be more present in all I do, to be more patient, and giving, to be more Christ-like, and less Alexandra like. It’s time to slow down- to be intentional and deliberate in my actions, To spend more time in His word than in my own thoughts. Rushing through life isn’t a meaningful life. And trust me, I’ve lived it, It has its own set of consequences. So, I challenge you as well, Spend less time checking boxes this week and more time checking in with God. We could all stand to slow down a bit. We have this one life to live; to reflect our Savior, to reach others, and to give glory to our God. And maybe even take our foot off the accelerator in the car and take in the beauty of your surroundings.