Slowing Down Our Race

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Sweat dripped from my brow and trickled down my face.  I put one foot in front of the other to keep momentum going.  I was on a mission to run a race, against myself, to get over the nauseating anxiety that left my head spinning and feeling as out of control as the rest of the chaos.

The pace this world was running was anything but healthy.

An endless stream of notifications are shoved in our face, piles of text messages come across our screen and multiple announcements flashing one after the other have taken over any last chance of normal we were gripping tight to.  Events have been postponed, trips have been cancelled (still a sore subject for me), the school system has been turned completely upside down, and trips to the grocery store have quickly become a game to see who can get the last item while the shelves are empty and the parking lot is packed.

The routines we’ve mastered have suddenly been pulled out from under us like a rug, leaving nothing behind but the sting of rug burns on our skin.  It’s every man for himself facing disappointment after disappointment. 

The pace this world was running was anything but healthy.

I was overwhelmed.  Until this very point, I’ve been running a really fast race.  “Busy” has been a regular word in my vocabulary, and I’ve been jumping from one race to the next.  Even as I sat listening to the updates of everything going on around us, I was still thinking about the plans I had made and how altering them would affect the pace I want to run.  I’ll admit that (in the beginning) my worry was not so much a deadly virus but how I was going to still get things accomplished.

When I got up one morning, I opened my Bible to start reading my daily quiet time.  I felt a wave of relief wash over me and a peace that hadn’t been there the days before.

I love running, but I didn’t realize how tired I was until I had been forced to stop.

I realized that while I had been worried about my pace slowing down, I failed to recognize that everyone else’s pace has slowed too.  I was overly concerned with how different my life would look that I didn’t even consider the changes happening to others around me.  We all have the battles we’re fighting- the races we’re running.

As I sat there on my bed, I realized my pace had slowed down; and that was a good thing- not something to fear.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the race we’re running- life itself- that we neglect to see the daily things we do as more than just an obstacle or stumbling block.  We start the race running alongside friends, family, coworkers; but somewhere along the track we either pass them or can’t catch up.  Everything between us and the finish line becomes a blur. 

We’ve been running an unhealthy pace because we’ve developed the mentality that we need to have better, do better and do bigger than what we did before.   Now we’ve been forced to pause, which is contrary to what our minds have been trained to do or what some of us want to do.  We’re only left walking the track we’ve already run with no way to get in front or push ahead.

Don’t be so focused on the race that you miss out on the experience of the run.

We often get bored of the track we’re running on because we’ve grown so accustomed to running on it.  We fail to see the beauty of the run and the things around us.  Far too often we take our run for granted and fail to see the blessings in the everyday journey.

Sometimes, it takes a forced break to realize that we don’t need to sprint all the time.  It’s okay to catch a breath and enjoy the run.

A slower pace gives us time to catch a breath, relax our overworked and sore muscles and replenish our motivation to run the rest of the race strong.

So, yes, when all this news about the corona virus first came out, I’ll admit I was annoyed.  It inconvenienced me, and I didn’t like that.  But now I’m seeing that there are so many hidden blessings in this. 

Here are some questions you can ask yourself; and then assess how you can take advantage of this forced slower pace of the run, and enjoy being quarantined:

• How has your quiet time been?  Have you found yourself getting caught up in the rush of life that it’s more rushed through and filled with distractions?
• Meditate on God’s Word and see what it is saying to YOU.  When we take time to actually listen to what God is speaking to us, it does more than filter into our minds.  It filters into our words and actions.
• How often do you usually spend time with your family?  Being away at college, I rarely get to spend more than a weekend with my family each semester.  It’s a blessing to get to spend quality time and be around them more.
• Pick up a hobby you never “have time for anymore.”  You have all the time in the world now!  Use it.
• Learn a new skill.  Practice makes perfect.  I think I’m going to try winged eyeliner.  Wish me luck.

The pace this world was running was anything but healthy.  In a society full of anxiety and stress, let’s take the time to slow down and realize the blessing in this forced break.  Let’s be thankful despite the circumstances.

Let’s finish this race strong and finish it together!

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