September 1, 2024
Mindlessly scrolling through social media last week, I came across my sister-in-law’s “back to school” photo featuring her youngest two. The boys were posing for the obligatory pic their mom had to snap (before being dropped at the schoolhouse doors). Besides the two stunning boys, who’ve seemed to grow like weeds since last fall, her post featured this muse: “The last time I only had the two of them on a first day of school picture was when they were in preschool together!” (I think she realized, that was over a decade ago).
As parents, we know this: sometimes life moves at light speed. Our kids are born, then we blink and they’re graduating from high school. We blink again and they are getting married, then having children themselves, all the while wondering, “where did the years go?” The timeless proverb is certainly true, “The older we get, the faster time seems to fly-by.” Maybe God designed it that way, so we don’t have to ask the Lord, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet… ad nauseum.” (That was me; I was that kid!)
Have you ever wondered, “Can we just slow things down a bit?” I have! Today, I drove to the Twin Cities to visit a hospitalized member. When I walked through her door, she seemed stunned, yet also so happy. She mentioned, “You didn’t have to drive all this way to come see me.” “Yes, I did;” I replied, “…it’s my pleasure to do so.”
Life goes by too quickly to miss moments like these to encourage one another. It’s good to simply ‘be in the moment’ with each other. Life isn’t about what we gather, but how we gather. Wouldn’t you agree?
While speeding through burbs on Hwy-169, I mused that, I and all these countless others, we’re all driving at the speed of life. We were all driving as fast as we could, without even a thought. And just then, as my thoughts were off in never-never-land, the Lord snapped me out of it.
From behind me, I heard that high-pitch whizzing “vroom.” As I blinked, a rider flew by — faster than the speed of life. Moments later, he was practically out of sight. The cyclist weaved in-and-out of traffic like it was an Olympic slalom course. He clocked past me within inches of my mirror—right down the centerline. Honestly, I shook my head in disbelief; then murmured a tiny prayer under my breath, “O Lord, slow him down. If he keeps riding like that, he’s gonna speed his way into the pearly gates!”
Hours later, as I repeated the same drive towards our quiet, little town, and travelled past Jordan, I thanked the Lord for the slower pace of life. I kept thinking: if only all these city-dwellers and suburbanites could know the peace of rural living. If only….
But ya know what? No matter where we live: in a huge city or a tiny town, time ticks at the same speed. And if any of us fail to blink, we’ll miss the moments, and we won’t be able to get them back.
If you’re anything like me, you long for a season to slow things down, and ease off life’s accelerator. I’ve been thinking about what we can do to help that along. It all centers around one virtue: community.
As the calendar and season is about to flip-over to fall, I’d like to encourage you to be more intentional about doing life together as a community, maybe a smidge more than your normal. If your worship practice is every few weeks, aim for every other. If you’re an every other week” kind of family, aim for one more. And while you’re gathered, don’t rush out as soon as you hear the “peace of the Lord.” Stick around for coffee hour and share in the stories; or, bring your Bibles and jump into the discussion after church; or, jump in and show the kiddos your love for the Lord. It’s about slowing it down and doing life.
Besides Sundays. we’re gonna start up the mid-week bible study too. Perhaps it’ll be purely virtual, perhaps live, or perhaps a combo of the two. (I personally prefer in-person, but that’s just me). Here’s a few other ideas. How about Friday night game night, or a movie night — dusting off some of the good ol’ reels from yester-year. (Ooohh… ya know what would also be fun – finding those old 9mm family reels and showing ‘em off to our friends and neighbors. That’d be a hoot). And perhaps, we also make some time to gather around a firepit to roast some s’mores and share in a few laughs.
The truth of it is this: it’s not about what, but about whom. The who are me, you, and our town — it’s all of us, really. Before life speeds us by and the calendar is flipping over to September 2025, and we find ourselves once more pondering, “Where did the last year go,” let’s capture a few more moments together, because the speed of life isn’t slowing down.
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