Letting Go of the Constant Hurry

During my few minutes of meditation today God brought to my mind the hurried and slightly anxious voice that I often use with my son. Typically this sounds like “Let’s go!” or “Come on, hurry up, we’ve got to…”

I’m rushing my son to get him to daycare and myself to the office. Or I’m rushing to get home for a meal. Or I’m rushing him to finish dinner because it’s getting late and he still needs to take a bath. It seems like it never ends.

This constant hurrying and anxiety about being late or missing something is obviously not restful. It shows that I’m still busy trying to earn approval or achieve something, rather than letting go of my own efforts and resting in Jesus. I’m trying to be in control.

What message am I sending to my son when I communicate that we need to hurry so often? I’m telling him that what I want to do or accomplish is more important than whatever he is doing at the moment. I’m not communicating love or dependence on Jesus.

The well-known passage on love in the Bible begins with “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4). When I focus on loving God and loving others and trust that God in in control of the outcome, it’s much easier to be unhurried.