Slowing Down

So in today's culture, we like to be busy.  We naturally create schedules that have us all over the place all the time.  American culture is such a fast-paced culture.  We have microwaves, fast-food restaurants, quick dieting plans, etc.  We are all about being fast.  Patience is not commonplace in the world today.

Well I, live many people my age, am not much different.  I am a college student with a part-time job and Church commitments.  I have places to be, people to see, and things to do.  And being active can be a good thing...but being too busy is not.  And I was succeeding very well at being much too busy.

So God, in His sovereignty, made me slow down.  How?  Well what is the obvious thing I need in order to fullfill my busy schedule?  A car to get me all these places.

And so God has taken my car away for a little while.  He did it in the perfect time, I have access to my mom's car to get to school and I may end up using it as my delivery vehicle, but losing MY car really hit home.

God never ceased to be a part of my life.  As many of you know, I have been keeping up with a Book of Romans study on Facebook and have been actively praying and keeping God around in my schedule.  But He was no longer the main part of it.  College, work, and church had become the three giants of my schedule and God was the thing I used to fill in the cracks.  And no, church and God aren't always the same thing.

Anyway, losing my car has forced me to slow down.  My busy schedule is now rocked a bit and I have a bit more time on my hands than before.  To do what?  Study extra?  No...to get back where I need to be spiritually.  I have a stack of biblical books that I need to get into again...I have a prayer life that needs sparking again.  I have priorities to change and that can never be done while I'm "busy".

So God fixed it!  It may cost me several hundred dollars in the end, but it could have been much, much worse.  And through it, I am learning a lesson.  God comes first, everything else second.  He is more important than my education and my work.  Does that mean I neglect those things?  No.  But it does mean those things do not come before me spending time with Him.  He is the main thing.  And I lost focus on that when I got too busy.  But God has fixed my schedule now and I have plenty of time to get this right.

Even in the midst of what seems to be a bad situation, God is good.  And He is looking out for me.  But I can only see that when I slow down and look at a big picture...with Him at the center. :-)