{"id":415,"date":"2010-11-03T09:47:31","date_gmt":"2010-11-03T09:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/11\/no-need-to-hurry.html"},"modified":"2010-11-03T09:47:31","modified_gmt":"2010-11-03T09:47:31","slug":"no-need-to-hurry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/11\/no-need-to-hurry.html","title":{"rendered":"No Need to Hurry"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

We had a rough morning on Saturday. They’ve happened before. Penny sobbing, William banging something, me about to yell at them. And all of it a result of trying to get out of the house and into the car. <\/p>\n

I was afraid this morning would be more of the same. I had a little over an hour for breakfast, the bathroom routine, and getting both kids dressed, plus packing a bag with everything we’d need for a morning that included a trip to the optician, ballet class, and our favorite local diner for lunch. My strategy this morning was simple: don’t hurry. Even though the clock will be ticking. Even though it can feel infuriating when Penny and William decide that running around naked is more fun than getting dressed. Don’t hurry. <\/p>\n

It worked. We got out the door in time, and I only got stern once. No threats. No tears. No yelling. And no need to hurry. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

I received an email newsletter from the Trinity Forum<\/a> this week, where Cherie Harder made a deeper spiritual point about the consequences of rushing through life. She writes:<\/p>\n

When people ask [our Senior Fellow Dallas Willard] how to grow spiritually, he answers: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life, for hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our world today.”<\/i><\/p>\n

It is such an enemy in part because it distracts us. Most people “pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it,” as S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard wrote in 1843. We can become so self-focused, working to keep our lives under control, that we lose contact with all that makes life good. Hurry can also be seen as a manifestation of the sin of pride. It is a result of trying to rely on our own capacities and refusing to recognize the truth that life itself–let alone the good life–is beyond us, however efficient we are. (Click here<\/a> to read the whole newsletter–well worth it…)<\/i><\/p>\n

It’s not easy to slow down. But it is life giving. Joy providing. And it makes me enjoy our children a whole lot more.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}