20 Somethings.

In our world, where the tempo of life seems to ever increase, the idea of slowing down can appear almost revolutionary. We’re constantly driven by a culture that equates success with productivity and speed, pushing us to keep moving at all costs. Yet, there is profound spiritual wisdom in learning to slow down, to find a pace of life that allows us to walk more closely with God. It’s about discovering balance, nurturing our spiritual well-being, and moving through life with divine intention and grace.

At a glance, the concept of slowing down to keep going might seem paradoxical. How can reducing our speed or pausing our stride bring us closer to our goals? Think of a 5k race… do you start the race off relentlessly, full speed, sprinting? No. If you do that, you won’t make it half the race! Now apply that to life.. Life is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Continuous, unchecked acceleration without pause leads to burnout, diminishing our ability to persevere in the long run. And more importantly… constant, unbridled haste can lead to spiritual burnout, distancing us from God. Slowing down invites us to recharge our souls, reflect, and realign our lives ensuring that when we do advance, we do so guided by His light and strength.

There are many benefits of slowing down…

Amplified Mindfulness: Slowing down helps us cultivate mindfulness, encouraging a deeper connection with the present moment. This allows us to enjoy what God has given us, rather than immediately thinking about the next thing. If you cannot appreciate what God has currently given you, why would He bless you with something new? Slowing down creates a new level of appreciation for the blessings we receive on a daily basis.. Big and small.

Improved Health and Well-being: The relentless pace of life can erode our physical and mental health. Stress is one of the main contributors to health issues in todays day and age. By slowing down, you can mitigate your stress and find out a method to alleviate those anxieties. Sitting with God in your worries and putting them in His hands, believing wholeheartedly He will take care of you, will make you feel as if a weight has been lifted.

Wiser Decision-Making: In the rush of life, our decisions can be hurried and not reflective of God’s wisdom. Rushed decisions usually lead to poor decisions. Slowing down gives us the space to think critically and consider our options more carefully, leading to making choices that are reflective of the commitment you have made to yourself and God.

Deeper Connections: Relationships flourish when we invest time and presence. Slowing down allows us to truly listen and engage with others, fostering deeper, more meaningful connections. And this intentional presence mirrors Jesus’s approach to relationships, allowing us to love more deeply and reflect His love to the world, as we are here to do so.

And there are many ways to do so!

Prioritize Self Care: Make self-care a non-negotiable part of your routine. Whether it’s through meditation, exercise, or simply taking a quiet walk, find activities that help you unwind and recharge (for me, its writing!) If you don’t carve out time for yourself, the quality of your interactions and the strength of your relationships with those around you may start to suffer. YOU are the most important person in your life.

Set Boundaries: Learn to say no. Setting healthy boundaries around your time and commitments is essential to preventing overload and burnout. You will not be the YOU that you want to be if you are not accepting of the fact you are not superman.. You do not have to be everything for everyone.

Disconnect to Reconnect: Regularly unplug from technology. Digital detoxes can free up time for face-to-face interactions and reconnecting with nature, both of which can have a rejuvenating effect. In todays time, social media can be so detrimental to mental health, and can effect your way of living, even without you noticing it. You start to compare, and you start to feel behind. Everyone has their own timeline, and stepping away from the socials helps clear the vision and allows you to focus on what is in front of you, and on what is next for YOU. This will also help you to reconnect with God in prayer and contemplation, and spend time in the word.

Embrace Leisure: Rediscover hobbies or interests that bring you joy and relaxation. Leisure activities are not just a form of escapism but a critical aspect of a balanced life. Have you always been interested in learning tennis? Go join that league! What about a book club? Call a few of your book-worm friends and get the plan in action. The initiation of things may seem difficult, but after executing, you will find it was easier than you thought.

Practice Gratitude: Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Taking time each day to reflect on what you’re thankful for can shift your focus from what you’re racing towards to what you already have and cherish. Reflecting on God’s blessings each day shifts our focus from what we’re striving for to what we’ve been graciously given, fostering a heart of thanksgiving and contentment. An example of practicing gratitude on a daily basis is journaling. Every morning, open your notebook, and write 3 things you are grateful for. Even if it is as simple as waking up, being healthy, and having a roof over your head. (those things are what we quite often take for granted, too!)

Our journey of life and our walk with God is deeply personal, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to navigating it. By allowing ourselves to slow down, we learn to tune into our own needs and rhythms, making it possible to move forward with intention and purpose. Remember, in the grand tapestry of life, every step taken with awareness and gratitude is a step forward, regardless of its pace. In embracing the art of slowing down, we find that we’re not just surviving the race but thriving within it, fully experiencing each moment and embracing the journey with an open heart and a renewed sense of wonder.

Go outside, smell the flowers, breathe in the fresh air, and acknowledge God’s grace. It is a beautiful life we have the privilege of living, sometimes it just takes slowing down to truly see it.

You’re sitting on the beach, in your favorite bathing suit, feet in the sand, sounds of cynicalness around you, the waves crashing, pure bliss.

And then, it turns dark. A cloud as dark as charcoal is over the whole earth and you open your eyes, and there’s a massive wave over you, on its way to capture the whole city. Suddenly, everything is taken over by the water and a disaster has arose.

It comes out of nowhere. You will be the happiest human being on this whole Earth and then it hits you like a semi going 100 miles per hour. You feel defeated. Beaten up. Weak. You begin to question your own worth and why you’re here because you get so low. The littlest of things can trigger it and they don’t come alone, they come hand and hand. You get anxiety about a situation and you become depressed because you cannot mentally figure out what to do in the situation. Your anxiety tells you that it’s imperative to freak out and it’s bestfriend, depression, bullies you until you are absolutely nothing. You sit on your bathroom floor and you cry and cry and tell your mom you’re okay, you’re just taking a long shower, while saying things to yourself like… “is living even worth it anymore?” How can such a illness make you question whether you want to keep living your life? How can such a thing make you feel like you don’t belong anywhere?

No medicine works, it makes you worse. You are told these pills will help until they turn into your escape. They turn into your hoped goodbye. It fails and then you are left wondering… “This was supposed to help? Why am I worse than when I begun?” You feel crazy. You feel low. You feel worse.

There are a million little things that run through your head to simply make a trip to the grocery store. You have those days you wake up and instantly feel defeated. You feel low and you want to sit in that exact spot until it all goes away. The world is scary. Other days, you need to do something to keep your mind off of how you’re feeling. You want to be around certain people, feel certain feelings, see certain things.. And then other days, you feel okay. You wake up and you have a good day. And those are the days you cherish.

Finding people to surround yourself with who understand this and everything that comes with it, and who help you, may be one of the hardest things to do when you struggle with this. Especially when you THINK you find someone who does… and it turns out they are only making it worse. Toxic people are one of the first causes to your lowest points. I’ve had so many of these. Letting people in, telling them all your deepest thoughts and secrets, they tell you they will never do anything to hurt you, to cause you to get to a low point, they promise they want to help you. They promise. They break that promise. And then, you are left to sit and wonder. You question everything, you don’t understand. You blame only yourself and you let THEIR decisions effect you in every single way possible. This is now what you become used to. It happens more than once, and you’re stuck. You get to the point of feeling so lonely that you are back to where you started. The bathroom floor.

To turn this around… if you feel this, or any way similar. Listen to these next few sentences I am about to say…

You are not alone. You are so important. You are so loved. You are so WANTED. You are VALID. You are WONDERFUL.

Please love, always remember that. You are worth more than the low, horrendous,  feelings you have at times. You are worth the whole world.

Dealing with this for as long as I have, (not trying to sound like a big shot, yes, I am only 18) and for as long as I am going to in the future, I am still slowly learning that the only way to keep yourself from hitting rock bottom, is to always keep those few sentences in your head. Know that someone out there loves you. Someone out there is praying for you. The low feelings will always come back but they always go away. You have happy moments and sometimes they last longer than others. That’s the moments you cherish and hold onto. Those are the days you think back on when you’re at that all time low. You learn to be more grateful for little things, the happy days, the good in life.

So, the next time your beautiful beach gets torn up by a hurricane or you’re on that cold bathroom floor, the sun comes out in a few hours, and if it doesn’t necessarily shine as soon as you’d like, the earth is going to keep spinning, and you will be okay. You will overcome this.

You are not alone. You are so important. You are so loved. You are so WANTED. You are VALID. You are WONDERFUL.