Lately, God has been teaching me some important lessons through every day events.
Take, for instance, my latest.
As you know, I am an overachiever and a perfectionist. I also tend to juggle a lot of responsibilities at any given point in time. I’ve been told I am a little like Superwoman.
It’s no wonder, then, that I tend to do things very quickly.
I walk fast. I eat fast. I talk fast. I read fast.
My goal is to get done with things quickly so I can do other things.
The bad thing is that I frequently fail to notice bits of information I need to complete tasks thoroughly.
This is one of my weaknesses.
It is not that I do not do things well. It is that I frequently cause myself undue stress because, if I was in the habit of taking my time, I would probably see all of the details and, thus, not stress myself out so much because I either misunderstood something or didn’t pay close enough attention to something.
Take my certification classes, for instance.
As you can imagine, taking three classes at one time means I have a lot of assignments and due dates to keep up with.
The program’s instructors make things as easy as possible for students, providing calendars with the assignments and due dates typed right on them.
Again, though, there are different due dates for different assignments.
That’s where I got myself into a bit of a bind this week.
I misunderstood one of the due dates for one of my classes and caused myself some embarrassment because of that.
Oh, I got my assignment turned in on time, but when I didn’t get feedback when I thought I was due it, I freaked out.
A chat with the professor cleared things up, and I realized I could have avoided my stress by carefully reading the instructions.
Let’s just say that I was mortified. I want my teachers to know that I am a professional and care about small details.
I berated myself for half of the day before finally taking a step away from “me” and looking at what God had to teach me through it.
I have, for a while, felt as if God wanted me to slow down a bit…take my time and not be in such a hurry.
This is a lesson He tried to impart on me when I worked at the law firm and did not always address all of my supervisor’s questions in emails simply because I’d overlooked them.
Slowing myself down will not only help me with my classes, but I think it will help me when I interact with my children and even my students.
By slowing down my speech, I will better articulate my thoughts instead of letting my brain and mental to-do lists push me along at an accelerated pace.
Slowing down to listen will help me better discern the information that people are sharing with me. Of course, this also means that I will have to shift my brain into a lower gear so that I’m not mentally thinking ahead to my response to people. I’ve often found myself interrupting people and answering in response to what I assume is going to be their questions when, in reality, they wanted to take the conversation in another direction.
As a result of being so prone to speed along and accomplish things quickly, I also expect others to do the same. I get very frustrated when I have to wait for someone else to do something before I can move to the next stage of what I need to do.
I could use a cop out and say that I’m very independent and self-motivated, but that only serves as justification for something called impatience.
Sometimes there is a reason I need to wait…like maybe so I can take a breather and won’t burn out or so God can put other things in motion that will help me complete my tasks.
What I heard God say to me yesterday was, “Slow down, Nathalie. Don’t always be in a rush. Everything will get finished in due time.”
That assurance means that I have to trust in God’s plan.
It is perfect.
He is perfect.
If He can create the world in six days (consider that one day is like a thousand years to Him), and even find another day (thousand years) to rest, then who am I to say that I can’t do the same?
Slow down.
Take my time.
The world is not going anywhere, and the work I produce will be of much more value.
Some of the hardest lessons are the ones that seem the easiest to do. That is called growth, though, and it only comes with a lot of hard work.
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