Slow Down!

I tell my husband that a lot when he is driving. "Slow down, you don't want to get a ticket!" (I don't want you to get a ticket) I have rushed through days, rushing here, rushing there. I have always been in a hurry when pregnant to get the delivery over quickly, something my body has never helped me with :) I have rushed through saying goodnight to the children. I have gulped down my food at meal time, for what I can't remember. I have rushed out of bed, rushed into bed. I have rushed so we wouldn't be late, snapping at the children while my patience wore thin. I can probably think of times I have rushed much more easily than the times I have slowed down. Our society has geared us to rushing. Believe me, I have rushed!

But today, on a cool summer afternoon I am Slowing Down. I feel very thoughtful and reflective today. Thinking about my life, what I take the time to appreciate, to think about, to fill my hours and moments with.
As I was nursing my baby I thought about my future...right now it's unknown. I was tempted to rush to feeling anxious, something that is too easy to do. Just as quickly, I heard the birds singing outside, my eyes fell to the precious face so close to mine. I breathed in the sweet baby smell, caressed the tiny fingers holding mine and asked God to help me SLOW DOWN!

To slow down before I get anxious. Slow down before I get impatient. Slow down before I have missed what my little one is trying to tell me. Slow down before I miss a moment to gaze at my husband and remember why I love him.
Slow down to feel and cherish these fleeting and all too quickly passing moments of young motherhood. Slow down before I miss a moment that I can never regain.

Today I am thinking of the verse in Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God.