Unrush me. What a novel concept in a world that has made us all believe that life is a one hundred yard dash rather than a marathon. Unrush me. Even though my plate is overflowing to the point that I cannot even imagine it ever being half full let alone empty. Unrush me. I cannot remember the last time my mind came to full state of relaxation because all my “yeses” have made my world so busy that even when I sleep my thoughts race. Unrush me. Because the hectic pace of life is overwhelming and it clouds my vision. In this sea of stress I miss the beauty that God has placed all around me. I cannot slow down long enough to notice or appreciate it. Unrush me Lord, so that I may be all that you have created me to be.

“When we live in the rhythm of rush the worst of who we are comes front and center”~ Lysa TerKeurst

I was only one in a crowd of eight hundred women but when those words left Lysa’s lips I knew she was talking to me. How did she know? It was almost like a “big brother is watching you” moment. I had just spent weeks living in the rhythm of rush and the consequences where evident. I couldn’t sleep, my nerves were on edge, I hadn’t been listening to my husband or my children when they spoke to me, I was irritable and frantic…the worst of who I was emerged, front and center. As I sat in the opening session of the She Speaks Conference I realized that while Lysa was speaking in the context of herself, she was really describing me. The doer in me rushed so much that I often forgot to look for God in my days…I rushed right passed Him. With every word spoken more wisdom poured out of Lysa TerKeurst’s mouth and God used every single word, every single story, every single scripture to remind me that He does not set the pace of our lives to rhythm of rush. In fact, the Bible points out that, by nature, God is not one to rush at all. I’m not sure how you do it (I’m actually hoping Lysa answers that question in her new book The Best Yes) all I know is I want to live unrushed…I want to be present and focused so that I can see God more clearly.

“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these…and He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.” ~ Mark 10: 14, 16

One thing that has always fascinated me in Scripture is the time that Jesus spent with people. I mean, His ministry started at 30 years of age and by 33 He was dead. Time was not on His side and He knew it…He is God after all. He knew how limited and precious His time was, yet throughout the Gospel’s we see stories of Jesus with people. He had friendships, Lazarus; He took the time to speak with people, the woman at the well; He dined with people, Matthew the tax collector turned apostle; He engaged with the misfits or the unwanted, the woman with the alabaster jar. He didn’t rush right by these people because He was too busy…no, He took the time to simply be with them in the moment, He was intentional and because of that people knew they mattered to Him. In His actions He was setting an example for us all to live by.

“Be still and know that I am God” ~ Psalm 46:10

It’s so funny. When I left Charlotte on Sunday morning I was bubbling over with blog ideas. The She Speaks Conference had poured so much of God’s truth into me that I couldn’t wait to come home to pour it out in my blog. However, somewhere between Charlotte and Detroit God had answered my prayers. Immediately upon waking up on Monday morning I was ready to fall back into the habit of rush. With bills to pay, a blog to write, ministry work to do…I woke with the need to go. But my go was soon halted. A horrible storm the night before had kicked all AT&T customers offline. For almost two days I couldn’t get on my computer. Instead of losing my mind over this loss, and believe me part of me wanted to, I decided to embrace what God might want to show me through this silly first world problem called an internet outage. In the still of being disconnected, God unrushed me. He showed me that when I am still, when I am focused on Him…I can be the best of who He created me to be. I hate to admit this, but for the first time in weeks I was fully engaged in my conversations, my mind wasn’t wandering, and I wasn’t thinking about all that I had to do.

Today I woke up feeling like I had been given a fresh pair of eyes. Eyes to see more clearly. Eyes to see that being a busy doer doesn’t make me more qualified for God’s calling on my life, in fact it’s often a source of distraction. Eyes to know that true fulfillment comes from being intentional in my relationships, with God and with people.

There is so much I want to share with you all from my experience at She Speaks but for now I’ll bask in this truth, God did not create us to be rushed. He created us to love one another, to take care of each other, and to share His love and grace through His Son Jesus Christ with the world. When we live at an unrushed pace we become more present in our relationships, more intentional in our interactions, and more focused on finding God in every moment of our day. When we live life at an unrushed pace we can live more fully for Him rather than being so focused on ourselves.