Getting a Do-Over - I Would Have Pedaled Slower (Part Quatre)

Getting a Do-Over - I Would Have Pedaled Slower (Part Quatre)

EVERY MINUTE of every day, choose to enjoy who you are and where you are.

I was plagued by a strange (yet, to many women, familiar) condition for almost twenty years. Regardless of where I was, I always felt guilty, sensing I was in the wrong place. If I was at work and it was 4:30 p.m., I felt like I should be at home with the kids. If I was home when the kids were sick, I felt guilty that I wasn’t at work (this was before the days of the Internet and home offices).

If Steve and I went out as a couple, I felt we should have the kids with us (What a terrible mother I am). When the kids were with us, I felt like Steve and I needed more couple time (What an inconsiderate wife I am). Shoot! I couldn’t win for losing.

I was pedaling too fast in every aspect of my life. If I could do it over, I would pedal slower in my head! My panic that I should be somewhere else robbed me of glorious experiences because I often wasn’t present in the moment. It was panic that I wasn’t fulfilling every obligation 100 percent that robbed me of glorious experiences by not being present with the person in front of me.

During those years, I didn’t have a mentor. No one was there to tell me it was okay (much less desirable) to jump off the hamster wheel every now and then. No one to explain that you and those you care for and serve will actually benefit from your slower pace. Our culture demands all of us to do more. Couple that with this crazy techno-world we live in, which is connected 24-7, and it’s no wonder we’re missing the moment. Our most glorious moments.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Girlfriends, technology will continue to rev up, and our culture is not going to change. It’s up to you to determine how fast you will pedal. Be courageous. Go slow.