Time to Slow Down

Mike Dwyer / Executive Pastor of Operations and Care

In J. R. Tolkien’s classic, “The Hobbit”, Bilbo Baggins plays a riddle game with the creature called Gollum. The final question Gollum asks is: “This thing all things devours; Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays Kings, ruins town, And beats mountains down.” The answer of course is Time.

Time, it seems, is something in short supply these days. I often hear; “I am sorry, I just don’t have the time, I am so busy.” I just started going to the gym again with a friend of mine. However, if I do that consistently it bites into my evenings with my family. If I do it in the early morning that takes time away from my devotional time. My lunch times are too inconsistent to be a reliable alternative. What is a guy to do?

Whenever I get to this point I am reminded of the painting in my office. It is a mountain scene with a bear approaching a pond. There is a small waterfall and a large ice capped mountain with clouds swirling around it. At the bottom of the painting is the scripture, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) The peaceful waterfall/lake juxtaposed under the swirling clouds above the mountain reminds me to find peace by resting in Him no matter my circumstances. That in this crazy, fast paced, over-scheduled circus we call life, God reminds us to breath, stop for a moment and to lean on Him in order to slow things down. For me it is reminiscent of when I have witnessed my daughter Laura stop my agitated granddaughter and tell her to breath and count to ten.

God would have us benefit from time and not be mastered by it. Solomon reminds us that there is a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). I know that brief slowdowns during my day when I can speak to our Lord, help me to align things better. Give it a try. I will be praying for you.