The book ‘Chasing Slow’ had become a recent re-read in COVID-19. The pages are no longer crisp, rather they are full of coffee spills, highlighter marks, and crumbs of my mid-morning muffin. Initially, I was drawn to the author’s unique writing style. It was different and I found it refreshing. So, I invited a group of ladies to join me to read and process the content together on a bi-monthly basis. I believe God invites us into slower rhythms of rest, we aren’t great at it because we seem to be trained to thrive in the hustle of our day-to-day, yet learning to seek stillness and peace doesn’t have to be foreign. The gentle abiding is possible. Erin shares her story while affirming, “I believe it is time to offer less.”
Also, I’d like to offer an option when processing how COVID-19 could impact your life long-term. What do I mean? This type of offer is an alternative to the rat-race mentality that we might quickly slip back into as jammed-packed schedules resume as ‘new normal.’ I might be the first to say, “Hey! It doesn’t have to be that way...” Originally, I read ‘Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke’ and ‘Chasing Slow’ at the same time. These two books shaped me to grasp the value of breath prayers and that “without grace, pursuing the slow life is just as exhausting as pursuing the fast one” (Loechner, p. 158). There appears to be a balance, maybe we never really find it, yet I hope we don’t give up as quickly in the polarity. I can see the tension of COVID creating a safe space to teach us the value of needing to surrender and seeking Christ in the slower rhythms of our day. These books will make those concepts sink in!
Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner
Your Best Life in Jesus' Easy Yoke by Bill Gaultiere
