The other day I was walking to the bus stop to go to work when I crossed paths with my bus--36 to Friendship Heights--at a red light. So I did what any car-less DC local would do: I ran. It was two blocks to my bus stop and there was a good chance I'd make it if the lights cooperated. And I did--just in time! I ran onto the bus, swiped my SmarTrip card and reveled in my victory as I caught my breath.
Unfortunately, my victory was short-lived. My reading on mediation across cultures was rudely interrupted when, what I thought was about halfway through my commute, the bus driver announced that we had arrived at the last stop, Foggy Bottom. Whaaaat? I must have gotten on the wrong bus! I stumbled off, disoriented, not knowing exactly where I was or the best way to get to school from there, and scrambled to make it to work 10 minutes late (when I should have been 15 minutes early, had things gone as planned). My running had clearly NOT paid off.
This reminded me of the time Derek and I were trying to get to the National Harbor and we ran to catch our train, only to find out one stop later that we had gotten on the yellow line instead of the green line, and had to totally backtrack.
All the rushing, in both these cases, actually only cost me more time in the end.
I'm not a person who likes to rush. I'm not good at jumping from one thing to the next without time to decompress and then mentally prepare. I'm not good at making quick decisions on limited information (clearly). After college, it took me two years before I set out for the Peace Corps. And after coming back from Kyrgyzstan, it was 9 months before my move to DC. I like to take my time, gather all the information, weigh decisions, and THEN move forward. Jumping quickly, well, that's just not the way I roll.
I admire people who can make fast decisions and move fast to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Of course leaps involve risks (like, for example, getting on the wrong bus or train), but I could be challenged to take a few more risks in certain areas. However, that being said, I do think there is great value in waiting, being still, and taking time to process before making big decisions. I recently read a blog post by my old youth pastor, Tim Clark, about declining opportunity for momentum in a culture that tells us: If you're not moving, you're dying. The story of Elijah tells us that God is not necessarily in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire--those big showy places we might expect him, those things that communicate loudly and powerfully. No, God is in the stillness. But if we are constantly jumping from one thing to the next, we will miss him.
For me, sometimes the challenge is the take the risk, make the jump, and not be afraid of being wrong. But I think there is also a severe problem if we are people who can't stand to be still. Because I really don't think God moves at the hyper-caffeinated American pace. I think most of the time, he's waiting for us to slow down. He wants to speak to us, but he can't do it if we're half a mile ahead of him, running after wind and earthquakes and fires.
All I know is, I'm not gonna be running after busses or trains anytime again soon.
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