Slow and steady wins the race! – Aesop’s Fables

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, (Titus 3:1)

Are you speeding through life?
What does it mean when you speed?
How many times have you hurt people because of your busyness?

I’m 49. In my entire life, I have had three moving (driving) violations. My first came when I was about 20 years old. I got a speeding ticket on Route 29N near Culpeper for going 65 mph in a 55 mph zone. The police officer told me he probably wouldn’t have stopped me except it was a rainy day and I needed to drive slower when driving conditions were bad.

When I was about 35 years old, I received my second moving violation for “failure to stop at a stop sign.” I was driving through Culpeper on a gorgeous day going less than 25 mph on a street with a speed limit of 25 mph. When I came to the stop sign, I rolled through around 3 mph. I didn’t repent and soon my old habit of rolling through stop signs resumed. God had given me a warning and I discounted it. In 2002, my daughter rolled through a stop sign and narrowly missed being struck on her side of car by another car going 50 mph. God’s mercy spared the lives of my daughter and son that day.

On February 8, 2005, I drove away from home at 3:55 AM after only 4 hours of sleep, having my 210 weekly drive from Culpeper to Giles ahead of me, and leaving little extra time to get to work. Around 4:35 AM, I was stopped as I entered the city limits of Charlottesville, Virginia. The police officer told me I was going 59 mph in a 45 mph zone. I thought the speed limit was 55 mph. The road was four lanes wide going my direction and not a car was in sight. It turned out the speed limit on Route 29S changed numerous times in the 5-7 miles prior to this.

As the kind police officer handed me my ticket, I asked if I could pray for him and he gladly accepted. During my prayer, I thanked God for laws intended to keep us safe and for police officers who put their lives in harms-way to protect citizens. I asked God to bless the officer and his wife. I asked God to forgive me for violating the law and to teach me a very important life lesson from this. Boy did God go to work quickly answering that prayer.

Later that evening, I typed in my journal these two life lessons: “1) SLOW DOWN and REST!!! 2) SIMPLIFY!” The next morning I called my son Robbie and told him about my speeding ticket. I asked him what it means when someone gets a speeding ticket. While, I don’t remember his answer, I told him it means to slow down and rest, not just while driving, but in life. Within two weeks, Robbie got his own speeding ticket and so did a close pastor friend of mine.

On February 10, 2005, just two days after my speeding ticket, I began reading John Ortberg’s book “The Life You’ve Always Wanted – Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.” Doug Barclay had mailed that book to me as a gift shortly before. Ortberg’s book shared a critical lesson: “To be spiritually healthy, you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life!” That is the most important lesson I have learned in the past 7 years, perhaps in my life. That is a lesson God wants me to share with the world.

Prayer Power
Father, life is a marathon, not a sprint. My heart is broken as I see so people, families, businesses, and ministries suffering from the consequences of excessive busyness. Forgive us LORD for the times we fail to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. Forgive us for times we are impulsive and say “yes” to things we don’t have time for. Teach us what it means to wait upon the LORD. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
“A Life You’ve Always Wanted” – by John Ortberg
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Youve-Always-Wanted/dp/0310246954/ref=sr_1_3/104-1310874-9426345?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178542212&sr=1-3

Blessings to run the race of life at God’s pace, not your own!