The Unhurried Life, Anna McKevitt - Guest Post

My name is Anna, I am married to Aaron, mum of three beautiful little ones - Levi, Luke and Hannah, and I have been apart of this church family since I was born!

Today I want to speak to you about slowing down, about living life a different way to how the world tells us to live.

Has anyone ever had what feels like a perfect day? My most recent perfect day would have to be in April at Pauanui in the Coromandel. It was our tenth wedding anniversary so Aaron had organised a holiday for the family at one of our most special places in New Zealand. The day was spent having coffee at the beach, watching the children play with their grandparents and each other (yes, that’s right, we brought grandparents on the holiday- it was an excellent move!) We relaxed and exchanged presents and cards, we reminisced some of the times we have shared over the years, and in the evening we enjoyed a dinner out without the kids (what a treat, am I right?!) Days like this just fill up my soul in such a way that makes it almost impossible not to feel grateful and nearer to God.

What if we could have perfect days far more often?

What if we could build a life that allows space for things that bring us and God joy?

What if we could slow down to a pace that instantly makes us different from the world around us?

What if we could train our soul into a default position of peace?

How different would our life be?

For most of us, we don’t neglect spending time with God because we aren’t interested, there’s quite simply too much other noise competing for our attention and God often gets lost amongst it.

An unhurried life offers us the peace and rest that our souls were designed for.

An unhurried life in Christ is simple, slow and full of peace. Today’s culture values fast-paced living, accumulation of things and often results in anxious lives with no hope. We need to cultivate lives centred around simplicity - so that we create room for being with God and his people.

In March 2020 all of New Zealand went into lockdown. The news was unnerving and unlike anything we have experienced before in our lifetime. The general response from myself and people I know (mostly parents with young children) was worry and anxiety around how we would cope with our children trapped at home, not able to go to any of our usual activities! I was concerned that I would come out of it stressed out and in great need of a break! As it turned out, the weeks that followed became the break that many of us didn't realise we needed. Being forced to cancel everything that was on the calendar felt almost like a relief and only having each other, the outdoors, and our imaginations; ended up being such a special time for our family.

This incredibly simple time, filled with walks in nature, the boys playing with sticks and spending time outside in our garden truly felt like a rest for the soul. Although this was an extreme circumstance, we were offered a small sample of how an unhurried life could look. It got me thinking - how can we capture more of what was incredible about this time, and implement it into our day to day lives. We don’t need to be at the mercy of a global pandemic to cause us to slow down - we can do this, and we can begin today!

In Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

It seems to me that if we follow the script for modern living, we will in fact end up weary and burdened, not the life I am sure any of us are striving for. I have found that by building my life around practices, routines and rhythms I am able to meet with God in many ways throughout my day - and I believe I am continually training my mind, body and soul to become more Christlike. If we want to dedicate our lives to God (our whole lives, not just part of our lives) then it matters what we do, it matters what we think, it matters what we watch and what we say.

Recently we have moved into a new house. This process is a huge one, as anyone who has ever moved house knows! So much goes into it in the months leading up to moving day - packing up each room, labelling the boxes as clearly as possible, putting things into storage. All while dreaming and thinking about the new house and how everything will fit into the new place, where it will go and how to best organise your life once you are finally there. It’s definitely a journey. While we were going through this process, I began to ponder how we organise our possessions. We put our ‘heavy use’ items in ‘high traffic ’areas of the house so that we can reach for them easily and quickly and without having to inconvenience ourselves too much. Cooking dinner in my house is crazy o clock. Any other mums out there the same? When I set up to begin cooking for the night, it is usually no less than five minutes before I have at least one child crying, pulling on my legs or asking me for a snack because they are ‘sooooooo hungry.’ After a fair bit of experience with the dinner hour, I now make sure that before I begin cooking, I always get out an easy snack and have it within arms reach, so that I can distract and keep happy my children for just a few more minutes while I finish the task.

Believe it or not, I think this has something to say about our life in Christ. When we are going through times that feel like survival mode, we will likely ‘reach for’ whatever practices we have established in our lives during the good times. When we build in practices that give space for us to draw nearer to God and be with Him throughout our days, the bible promises us that we will ‘bear fruit’. If we deliberately cultivate a life that is centred around Christ - in every aspect - we will see ourselves being transformed! When we implement a new practice in our life, it takes some getting used to and there is always an adjustment period. Since moving into the new house there have been several times where Aaron or I will ask the other ‘where has this been put?’ or ‘where does this live now?’ as we get used to the way things are organised now.

However I imagine it won’t be long before these things become second nature and we won’t even have to think about them anymore. So to, we want our key spiritual practices to be constantly available to us, wherever we are at. So what are some of these ‘practices’ that I am alluding to?

A huge one that is VERY counter-cultural is..... slowness.

The practice of slowing our lives down to ‘the pace of Jesus’ is one that I recently heard about from a Pastor and Author called John Mark Comer. He has written a book and study series called ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ which a home group I am part of has been studying for the last few months. As mums of pre-schoolers, the idea of living an unhurried life seemed quite out of reach for a lot of us! How on earth are we supposed to slow our lives down when we are constantly running late and trying to get multiple young children into their shoes and socks so we can finally leave the house?

But the practice of slowing is about cultivating a mindset shift towards God and away from the things of the world which tell us to ‘hurry’ and ‘do more’. God created us as human beings with a mind, body and soul - with each part affecting the others. Consequently, if we are consciously slowing our body and our mind, our soul will follow. In the series John Mark gives a bunch of practical ways we can train ourselves into ‘slowing’ - and one of them is focused on our smartphones and smartphone usage. The constant dinging, notifications, messages, emails, checking, scrolling and absolutely unmonitored access to ANYTHING we want to find is exhausting to say the least. John Mark suggests the idea of ‘parenting’ your phone, like you would with a child - by setting strict limits on usage, the time that it ‘gets up’ in the morning, and the time that you ‘put it to bed’ at night.

I have been conducting this as a bit of an experiment in my own life for the last couple of weeks since I learned about the idea and let me tell you - it has made a huge difference. I have noticed my mind has become more still and peaceful, particularly when I have lots on my plate and can tend towards becoming overwhelmed. I have noticed an increase in my ability to focus on a task without constant interruption from my phone, as well as many moments of stillness when I choose not to reach for my phone to check something quickly. If we want to be ‘tuned in’ to God throughout our days, we must be free from the many distractions which seek to keep us busy and hold our attention.

In John 15:4 we read ‘remain in me, (some versions say ‘dwell’, others say ‘abide’) as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’

The definition of remain is ‘continue to exist, especially after other similar people or things have ceased to do so.’ Remaining in God is a practice that we can learn, and with perseverance, it will lead us toward a life of closeness with Him. Lets look at Galatians 5:22-25. ‘But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’

How does a tree produce fruit? There are many things that a tree relies on in order to grow, thrive and eventually produce fruit. I am not much of a gardener, but I do know they need to receive enough sunlight and water and that the soil needs to be healthy and rich in nutrients for plants to thrive. So it is with us. In order to cultivate and grow the fruits of the spirit in our life, we MUST be feeding our souls the right things. The little things we choose to do over and over again with deliberate intention matter greatly.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us to ‘guard our heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.’

Personally, I take this very seriously and aim to apply it to all areas of my life. This means that I choose to trust in God rather than getting swept up in anxiety around how I raise my children. It means that I choose to think kindly about myself and the way I look, rather than doing self loathing and comparisons. This also means that I choose to think the best of my husband, rather than letting small irritations build up and become large resentments over time.

The fruits come from the tree. So - what is our tree planted in? First, and above all else - we need to be planted in God. This means that we read his word, pray and speak to Him, and implement practices in our lives that bring us into closer communion with Him.

Psalm 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

This Psalm talks about a blessed person whose roots are ‘planted by streams of water’. Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and they yield fruit. The picture this Psalm offers is - I believe- an image of the sort of person we can become when we seek after an unhurried life with God. Living a life that is unhurried can sometimes feel impossible in our fast-paced world. But God calls us to love others and love Him, and what better way to do that than to simplify our lives in order to have room and capacity for the interruptions of life? When we are at rest in our soul and have structured our life without a million obligations and activities we are able to live more like Jesus by being present with Him and his people. In conclusion, I invite you to consider three things:

1. Has your 'house' been unpacked yet, or is it still filled with boxes? In order to become ‘unhurried’ we must first deal with our stuff, and if we haven’t, this is a great place to begin.

2. Consider an area of your life in which you could simplify or become less hurried? What can you cut out in order to allow more space for time spent with God or investing in others?

3. What is one practice you could implement in order to commune with God more throughout your days?

Written and preached by Anna McKevitt

Shared live at Lane Park Church, Upper Hutt on Sunday 10th July 2022

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