Come on, Slowpoke!

“Yes, I understand that turning back or waiting for others
slows you down, but only at first.The deliberate extension of goodness, generosity, and wisdom always wins out in the end.”

~~ Lisa Bevere, “Lioness Arising: Wake Up and Change Your World”

When I was a little girl, riding my bike was one of the endless activities that filled my summer days. We lived by a lake, and our road was a dead-end, so most of the cars that drove by our house were either people who lived there or perhaps strangers who were lost. In any event, hardly anyone ever drove down that road fast . . . because there was a huge tree at the end of the road and you had to drive around that tree to turn around and go right back out the way you came in.

The other really great thing about "Our Road" was that there was a little hill just beyond our house (it seemed quite enormous to me at the time!) We would race down that hill to the bottom, and come screaming to a stop just before we would crash into an enormous Weeping Willow tree at the edge of a swampy area. Now THAT was a great way to spend a summer afternoon!

One day I was racing my bike with my BFF, and as we came zooming down that hill with the summer breeze whipping our hair into our eyes, we were laughing and yelling at one another to "Go faster! Go faster!." Suddenly I looked over and saw that she was RIGHT THERE and we slammed into each other. Of course, that knocked us both off of our bikes, right there in the middle of "Our Road," and there was blood everywhere. We both had skinned up our knees and our hands, knocked heads somewhere along the way, and we probably both had a fat lip. Fortunately, nothing was broken except our momentary dreams of being world-class bike racers, but it did put us out of commission for a few days. Not long, though!

Soon we were both back to the business of all the adventures that little girls would have on a summer day, playing in the woods, spying on the other neighborhood kids through the branches of that Weeping Willow tree, and racing our bikes down the hill again right there on "Our Road." That's the way life usually presents itself to us, both as children and as adults. One minute we are flying down the road of Life with our hair flying in the breeze, laughing as we go. And then, suddenly, we are confronted with "The Hill" of adversity, and frequently we crash and burn before we get back up and travel on.

So what happens when we have to "slow down" for someone else along the way? Sometimes my girls go for a bike ride here on "Our Road" by our house that is also near a lake with a woods in our backyard. But one of our girls can't go as fast as the other, because she has Cerebral Palsy. It is easy for her sister to get exasperated when they can't zoom down the road as fast as she would like . . . . so here's what we do: "How about you go as fast as you can until you get to the sign at the curve, and then come zooming back to catch up with your sister?" That way we all get to go for a bike ride, together, while one gets to experience the thrill of the wind-whipped hair in the eyes and mouth, while the other one gets the opportunity to learn how to make the bike pedals go around and not tip over, all at the same time!

Yes, it can slow us down when we have to wait for someone we love to catch up. But what's really important here? Convenience or compassion? The thrill of the speed or the joy of the relationship? In other areas of life, the question is the same: Do we value the relationship with our loved ones, or do we just want them to "hurry up" and do it our way? I think about how often God patiently waits for me to "get it," to understand, and to figure out that His way is always the only way on my life journey.

Do not be discouraged if you are waiting for a loved one - sometimes those moments of slowing down, taking a deep breath, and saying a little prayer is the task that is before you TODAY. No, you may not be setting the world on fire with the newest, greatest, and most incredible discovery, but you are giving a gift that is truly a treasure to those whom God has put in your pathway along the journey of Life, wherever you live on "Your Road."

If you would like to participate this week with "In Other Words," please leave a link here to your post on this quote so we can come visit you. We would love to read your thoughts on this topic! Also, you can find more information at Loni's blog, Writing Canvas, and join us in future weeks for "In Other Words."

 

 

Comments

[Tami Boesiger]

This is a great reminder Nina. Sooner or later we'll all be the slowpoke. May I have the same compassion and patience I hope others have with me.

My post can be found at http://tamiboesiger.blogspot.com/2011/07/alongside-and-with.html

[Karen Gillett]

It is important to stop and think about why we are having to slow down. We would love to go fast all the time but that isn't the way it always works. Love the bike stories, reminds me of my siblings.

[Cecilia Marie Pulliam]

Great post, Nina. It too reminds me of my sister and I and some of our bike adventures, along with some of the other adventures we created. God sometimes slows us down for a lot of reasons, for our benefit and for others. In all instances, we need to rely on His wisdome and not ours. Not always easy, but definitely worth the effort. Thanks for sharing.