Ch 13 The Hurry Habit - Recap

The Hurry Habit

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways - James 1:8

Did you ever think being in a hurry makes you unstable? Rushing around, mind flitting from one thing to the next, unfocused, worrying about being late?  Doesn't sound stable, does it?  The hurry habit makes us anxious and stresses us out.  There are no benefits to the hurry habit.  So, why on earth would we want to put ourselves through that?  Especially when we can put our trust in The Lord, who is never late and never hurries. Trusting in His perfect will for our time, our schedules, our lives brings calm and His peace to us even in the most tumultuous times.

Is God in a Hurry?/Set an Overload Alarm

Never be in a hurry, do everything quietly and in a calm spirit - St Francis de Sales

Are we settling for something less than God's perfect will for our lives simply because we are in a hurry?  Do we fully enjoy God's daily blessings in our lives? Or do we miss them because we are bouncing from one thing to the next, trying to check off our To-Do list?  Our focus needs to be adjusted, our priorities reset.  If our focus is on God, He will help us remain calm and stable, allowing us to be more observant of the delights He has in store for us.

How?  How do we keep ourselves from losing focus, from becoming overloaded? We start by slowing down, by spending time each day in silence and solitude deliberately seeking God's presence, by stopping to smell the roses and recognizing the lavish love He pours out on us each day.  God loves to delight us, yet so often we hurry past things intended to make us smile & feel loved. We need to take time to think about how we are living our "dash"

The Benefits of Hurrying

There is more to life than increasing it's speed - Gandhi

To me, that title is an oxymoron.  What do we really gain from hurrying?  We think hurrying helps us get more done, gives us more time to do more things.  Maybe it does.  But, how well are we doing them? Hurrying also decreases our time with our loved ones and what time we do spend with them probably isn't as enjoyable as it could be because we are already hurrying on to the next thing.  We lose more than we gain.  What we gain - Anxiety, impatience, irritation and stress - is really not that beneficial at all.

Get Started Right

Joyce tells us that if we started our day right, the rest of the day will go better.  What is the "right" way? Spending quiet time alone with God.  Asking for His help, His presence in our day.  Breathe deeply and reminded yourself , with God's help "I will not hurry today". Do this each time you feel harried or rushed.  The God habit is the basis for forming all other good habits.  Don't hurrying your way out of His blessings.  Don't allow hurry to steal your joy or your peace.

thoughts:

I really thought I was going to get through this chapter without getting my toes stepped on.  Wrong!  I hate to hurry.  I hate to feel rushed.  Just the word hurry makes me feel anxious. I do what I can to avoid hurrying.  So I was feeling pretty good about this chapter..UNTIL...I read the getting started right blog.  I have daily quiet time with God each weekday morning for at least 15 minutes so I thought I had this aced too.  Until I read "What is the first thing we are likely to hurry through?  That's right, our time with God."  Uh oh - OUCH!  That's the one thing we shouldn't rush.  I try not to, but if I'm tired, running a bit behind or trying to log into work - you get the picture.  When I should be giving God my undivided attention, a million other things are vying for my attention.  When I feel rushed, God doesn't get my best.  And I REALLY need that time with Him!  It requires discipline and sometimes I get slack with it.  I also need to be more consistent with my quiet time on the weekends.  Sometimes it is nonexistent on the weekend. I was looking for pictures to add when I came across the quote above.. Ouch again!  I care about my quiet time and my relationship with God.  But, to God it must seem like I am hurrying on to other things.  And that is unacceptable, it is not what I intended.  So, OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!

Father, please forgive us when we hurry, especially when we hurry in our time with You.  Help us put the God habit first then slow down & enjoy our time with You.  When we slow down, we can appreciate the delights You set in our paths each day.  Trusting in Your perfect timing for our lives allows us to remain calm and at peace. Remind us there is nothing good to gain from hurrying.  Show us how to eliminate the hurry habit from our lives.  Thank you for helping us form good habits.  Thank you for Your love and patience as we work with You to become all You desire us to be.  In Jesus name, Amen  So be it!