When I was younger, I drove a lot in the fast lane because I was almost always running late.  I hoped all the traffic lights were green, that no slow pokes would pull out in front of me, and that the interstate would be accident free.  Oh, and that no traffic police were in the vicinity.

I’m not sure if it is because I am older and hopefully wiser, if it’s because I partly retired last year, or if it is the stillness I have longed for, but I am enjoying the slower lane these days.

Having lived through three years of intense care-giving at home and by necessity keeping my outside commitments to a minimum, I learned that I and everyone else survived when I had to say “no.”  Other people stepped up to the plate or something was delayed and the world kept right on turning.

Did I think it would not?

Being still is under-rated I think. We fill our lives with much activity, information, commitments, and goals worth striving for while we have lost the ability to be still and know.  Why is it hard for us to just stop?

Perhaps we think the world will stop turning.

I realize I am in a different stage of life.  I don’t have babies in diapers or children in school.  I am not punching the clock Monday through Friday, though I’ve had some pretty long, tiring days the last three years.  But I really wish someone had told me the pure pleasure of just ceasing the madness once in a while.

Because of my personality, I could easily slip back into the too-busy mode, the fast lane.  I could find myself saying “yes” too often, in places where I am not really called to go.

One thing I do know.  When I am serving where God calls, I find contentment and joy.  I see fruit and reward.  I feel His pleasure, no matter how mundane the task or how unnoticed by the masses it may be.

Driving in the slower lane is a choice we can make.  I think it’s a good choice.  The view is breathtaking.  And I get to wave and smile at the police cars.