Life In The Fast Lane

Life in the Fast Lane

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

A school crossing guard in Florida was frustrated that cars refused to slow down as they went through the zone where he was in charge. Dale Rooks had tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Nothing, that is, until he took matters into his own hands by wrapping a blow dryer in electrical tape to make it look like a radar gun.

The next day, when speeding drivers noticed Dale pointing his “radar gun” at cars, they instantly slammed on their brakes. “It’s almost comical,” Dale said. “It’s amazing how well it works.”^a

Dale’s clever idea got us thinking about what it would take to get people to slow down in general—not just in their cars. Can you imagine if your spouse could hold up a radar gun when you were falling victim to hurry sickness? On a particularly rushed day, he or she could clock your speed and pull you over for a respite. Wouldn’t that be convenient when our day gets too busy to connect or even pause for a meal? Maybe after three tickets in an allotted period of time we would have to go on vacation together. It’s all wishful thinking, we know. But it does give one pause to consider how we might help each other slow down.

Jonathan Tunrbough tells the story of his mother who was driving his sisters and him to school when a policeman stopped her for speeding. When his mom drove off again, she was being very careful to stay under the speed limit. After a few minutes had passed, they all started hearing a strange noise coming from their vehicle. “What’s that noise?” his mother asked. Laughing, he replied, “That’s the sound of slow. We’ve never heard it before!”^b

What does slow sound like in your marriage? What does it look like? Chances are at least one of you wants to ease up the pace. How will you know when you’ve slowed down?

For us, a sure sign of slowing down means we’re both home with our boys for an evening with nothing scheduled past five o’clock except time together. It also means not holding phone conferences while driving in the car with the family. It means taking our little ones to the park without a time limit. And the sound of slowness means hearing casual conversation around the dinner table and hearing the waves on the beach while we’re watching the sunset together.

So we’ll ask you again. What are the sounds and sights of slow in your relationship? Answering this question just might help you find more of them.

Running on empty, running blind. Running into the sun, but I’m running behind.

—Jackson Browne

^a 131

^b 132