Hebrews 12:1-2

Is time passing faster, or am I just getting older? Can this really be the last hurrah of the summer? School can’t actually be starting already, can it? I feel like swapping my calendar for a stopwatch.

Today I have decided to slow down long enough to stop the blur and look. Not just to look, but to see. As Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

Sometimes it helps to open life’s door slowly and secretively take a long gaze inside. On other occasions, it’s better to jerk it open unannounced, slam on the light, and get a quick read. I’ve been doing the latter today, and I don’t like what I see. My sudden glance has flushed out all sorts of critters.

• Too many involvements
• Intensity level much too high
• Time to pray, to think, to plan, to play is still too rushed
• Midget worries turning into imaginary monsters
• Living life too predictable . . . not enough creativity
• Days off interrupted by needless, low-priority stuff
• Skating across relationships—need to dig deeper
• Extracurricular reading not sufficiently stimulating

I know of no better strategy for stopping such an ugly, rat-infested existence than deliberately pulling off the racetrack and taking periodic pit stops to refuel, renew, refresh, and recover. Let me level with you. Your pace is your problem and my pace is mine. We got ourselves into this maddening race, and each one of us is personally responsible for the speed at which we’re driving ourselves.

If you can say, “I’ve sinned. The pace I’m keeping is not healthy—spiritually, mentally, or physically. It’s not what I want, but it’s my own doing,” then I urge you to do so—and then do something about changing it.

I can’t promise instant and total transformation, but I can assure you of this: It will be the most unusual pit stop you’ll ever make. You’ll not only get your tank filled, you’ll also get your rats killed!

Do you think you should take that needed pit stop to refuel, renew, refresh, and recover so you can reenter the race and run with diligence? If you think you could benefit from a needed pit stop, join us in this simple prayer; Dear God, I am exhausted from my current pace of life, help me Father to set aside time each day and night to meet with you so that I can be refueled, renewed, refreshed and revived. Forgive me Father for my exhaustion and help me learn how to balance my life according to my energy levels, my time and your plans and purposes for my life. Save me from distractions, snares, low, barren, and overwhelming places and overwhelming demands that would try and steal my ability to thrive and go forward in all that you have destined for me, in Jesus name, I ask and pray. Amen!