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It’s Just Too Much…


Just this past week, someone I follow on social media posted a screenshot of her notes app. It listed all the different pick-up and drop-off locations for her four kids—for just one day! I couldn’t believe it.

First off, let me just say: parents are superheroes. They rarely get thanked enough for all they do, even the “simple” things like driving to and from every child’s activity. Second, it's hard to believe the kinds of schedules many of us keep. We’ve become experts at filling every slot in our calendars. We’ve become… too busy.

For a lot of us, summer is supposed to be the season of rest. A time to slow down, to relax. And yet, you may find yourself—like I have—already looking at your summer calendar wondering, how in the world did it get this full already?

This has always been a struggle for me. I love staying busy. I love a full schedule. And truthfully, I love saying yes to as many things as I can. It’s not necessarily bad to be busy or to do the things we love or need to do. But like everything in life, it requires balance.

When I was in college, I found myself drowning in commitments and coursework. A local pastor gave me a book that was both powerful and helpful: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. (If you’ve been around on Sundays, you’ve probably heard me talk about it—and we have copies in our Resource Center if you're interested.)

Comer, a well-known author and former pastor of a large church in Portland, wrote this book out of his own experience with burnout and busyness. He quotes Dallas Willard, who once said:
“You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”

Most of us would probably agree—we’re too busy. We live in a constant state of hurry. And as Comer recently shared on social media, we need intentional strategies to combat that. I wanted to pass along a few of his simple, yet challenging suggestions to help you slow down this summer:

 

1. Pick 1–2 “games” to slow down your life:

  • Drive only in the slow lane

  • Show up 10 minutes early to everything

  • Choose the longest line at the grocery store

2. Cut 1–2 things out of your schedule:

  • Social media

  • TV

  • An extra social obligation

3. Try to go a day (or even a week) without your phone:

  • Print out directions or recipes in advance

  • Spend more time outside


Now, I get it—some of these suggestions may sound silly or even torturous. I mean, have you ever waited in the longest grocery line at that one slow store? I’m not sure I could handle it either! But I get Comer’s point: if we only hope to slow down, we probably won’t. We have to act. We have to be intentional. And what better time to do that than summer?

I hope you feel challenged by this idea. Every time I talk about it—or write about it—I feel the challenge myself. I know I need to make a plan too.

Maybe your first step is to pick up a copy of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry from the Resource Center and spend some worthwhile time reading it this summer.

I pray that you’ll be able to resist the rush this season. May this summer bring you deep rest, meaningful time with friends and family, and space for intentional time with Jesus.

With love,
Pastor Clay