Slow Down

The other day I had one of those moments where life and faith collide in the most unexpected way.

I was driving home, heading down a hill, and out of nowhere I felt this urge to talk to Jesus out loud. Not the quiet, neat little kind of prayer. More like the raw kind where your thoughts spill out before you can stop them.

So I said, “Jesus, when is it going to be my turn? Did I deserve everything I’ve gone through? Is it ever going to get better?”

I’m still praying when I realize I’m going way too fast. Like actually flying down the hill. At that exact moment, a cop comes from the other direction. My stomach dropped. You know that sinking feeling when you just know you’re busted?

He flashes his lights at me. Not a full siren. Not pulling me over. Just a warning.

And instantly the thought came to me: slow down.

It wasn’t only about the speed limit. The timing was too perfect. I had just prayed. I had just asked if God even saw me. And right then came the answer. Not with a list of instructions. Not with the “yes” or “no” I thought I wanted. Just this simple reminder.

Slow down.

Slow down in the way I’m rushing through seasons, always worried I missed my turn. Slow down in my thoughts when waiting feels like punishment. Slow down in believing everything has to happen right now for it to matter.

That cop could have pulled me over. He could have written me a ticket. He could have made me pay. Instead, I got mercy. A warning. A chance to ease off the gas and pay attention.

And that’s exactly what I think God was showing me too. I’m not forgotten. I’m not being punished. I just need to slow down and trust Him with the pace of my story.

It made me think of Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Sometimes the holiest answers show up in the most ordinary moments. A pair of headlights. A flash of red and blue. A quiet thought that lands so perfectly you know it isn’t random.