Our American culture does not value slowing down. Everything is always, “Advance!” or “Full speed ahead!” and “Victory, Victory, Victory!”

How many times while driving have seen a yellow light and sped up to get through it? Come on, be honest. Okay, so maybe you haven’t done it, but I’ll bet you’ve seen other people do it, right?

We don’t want to slow down. We don’t want to evaluate. But that is what happens when we find our circumstances taking a slow turn. How we feel and the reality of our current circumstances rise to the top. We ask ourselves questions that we’d rather not think about. We are faced with realities that we would rather avoid. We feel like slowing down is actually stopping. It isn’t.

“God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen.” Isaiah 28:12 NLT

Tom and I had COVID this week. Not a big deal. Not like it might have been in 2020. But being sick is ALWAYS inconvenient, isn’t it? If you are like Tom and me, you have a list of things to accomplish in a week. But being sick means our priorities change. Appointments are rescheduled. Errands are postponed. Being sick slams on the brakes.

Let’s say you are traveling on a local open road at 55 miles an hour and suddenly a deer leaps in front of you. You slam on the brakes! Once you miss the deer and start to move again you proceed cautiously, keeping your eyes moving. Where there is one deer there are usually more, right? After a while, once you are sure that deer is alone, you regain 55 mph and cruise on. You refocus on getting to your destination. That is what most of us do. That is how we often approach life. At least, I know I have.

But what if God uses those times in life that cause us to “slam on the brakes” to get our attention? What if He intends to call us into a season of rest? What if He is saying to resume your journey at a slower pace? What if there are beauties to notice along the way?