by Beth Vogt @BethVogt
I experienced the whole “stuck in overdrive” ordeal for real
yesterday.
I was driving on the highway when my car started revving up and,
even when I tried to brake, the car wouldn’t slow down. I was coming up on my
exit — and a red light — in a minute or less, and praying my car would stop
even as I imagined my car driving straight into the intersection and oncoming
traffic.
I’m thankful my car did stop, but it continued to rev up, so I turned
it off. When I turned it back on? Same thing: the engine revved up way too
high. So I turned it off again. My adrenaline was as revved up as my car, so
much so that I was shaking all over.
I’m happy to report the car eventually calmed down (I did, too) and
it’s now at the mechanic’s. Now that it’s all behind me — except for the repair
bill — I got to thinking about how we can get stuck in overdrive in our
lives. We rev our physical, mental, and emotional engines up and we never
throttle back. We start thinking that living that way — revved up — is
normal.
Sure, sometimes circumstances demand that we pick up our pace, that we
push ourselves, that we get up early and stay up late. But when it’s all over —
the deadline, the commitment, the project — we forget to slow down again. We
forget to relax and we miss the beauty of life.
My car revs up? I know that’s a malfunction and I’m getting it
fixed. The question is: Why do I accept “revved up” as normal in my everyday
life?
In Your Words: Revved Up or Relaxed — which would you say is the
“normal” for your life?
TWEETABLES
Ms. Beth; Thank You for sharing these thoughts. We often have to remind ourselves to seek rest, to recover from the "constant chaos" living in this world can bring. I wish I could tell you and others that I live "Relaxed", but in all honesty, I have to force myself to do so. I have to start and stop each day in this world by finding rest in our Lord. This alone time is what brings our souls the rest we all need. Blessing for this timely reminder. May we all find our "relaxed life" today.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jim:
DeleteWell, this is so interesting! My life was so revved up yesterday that I didn't see my blog post on The Write Conversation! My daughter had major surgery and my husband and I were taking care of our two GRANDgirls. Love doing that -- but life certainly revs up when they are here! It's funny but true that we have to force ourselves to relax. We have to be intentional about rest.
How timely your blog was for me. I have found myself staying revved up and getting awfully grouchy. With the holidays upon us, you remind us that going at a fever pitch should not be our normal. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLoretta:
DeleteYes, the holidays -- or "holidaze" as I like to say -- is a perfect time to live life "revved up." I like to do more in some areas, as in "there's always room for one more" at my table, and I like to do less in other areas. Less decorating, which means less clean up when the holidaze are over. Less food prep on the actual day of Thanksgiving or Christmas so there's more time to visit with family and friends.