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If life is a race, run at your pace.

christinepoper



Ashamed of my pace.


What you are doing and how you are feeling points to what and how you are thinking.


Here are some of the phrases that I have noticed pop up time and time again in my own mind:


"Those other people are doing it so why are you struggling?"

"You are just being lazy."

"You're too slow."

"You're just making excuses."


You see, when it comes to the projects I'm working on or the amount of goals I'm trying to achieve, I seem to go slower than a lot of the people I see around me. And because I hold myself to a high standard (so I've been told many a time...), I often slip into believing the lie that I should be going as fast as 'they' are. When I try, I get anxious and irritated. When I don't, I wrestle with shame.


I become ashamed of my pace.



Truth Buster


God is not leaving me where I'm at. His truth has a way of breaking down the strongholds of lies and laying a new foundation where I can now build a new stronghold. One that speaks a better word. One that removes any foothold that would allow shame into my life.


And so He did what He is so faithful to do. He gave me a reminder of who I was and He gave me some replacement truths to repeat to myself until they become my go-to thoughts instead of the lies I've told myself in the past.



These are the declarations that I now speak over myself:


The Truth is....


God made me. God made me good, full of beauty and with purpose. He rejoices over me. He knows where, when, why and how I work best because HE created me this way.


He gave ME this season's tasks. Me - the person who goes at a "slower" pace. It wasn't an accident that He chose me for them. He wants a person like me, with a pace like mine, to accomplish those things. If I try to do them like others would do them (you know, those others with a different life, different responsibilities, different time constraints, different personalities, different values... those people), then I'm basically not trusting that God knew what He was doing when He asked... ME. I'm made for this.


I am not lazy. I am obedient and I am patient. I will NOT succumb to a cultural demand for speed that is not in alignment with God's call on my life or the responsibilities that He has given me. I value my slower pace because God has made me thorough. I am not in a hurry because I know that He is not in a hurry. I know very well when I'm making lazy choices. I know when I'm being disobedient. I know how to work in a busier-than-normal season and I know what the grace for that feels like. Feeling anxious because I'm trying to fulfill a task in a way that God didn't ask me to do it... is. not. laziness.


I don't have anything to be ashamed about. When I need to re-assess, slow down, say no to others and adjust my own expectations on myself, I do not need to be ashamed. Re-prioritizing and taking things step by step is not being lazy and is not less effective. This may well be the key to success.


I do not make excuses. I am self-aware and I am season-aware, and I plan accordingly.



And this, folks, is a glimpse into my journey to having a healthy, Kingdom mindset and thought patterns.


Do you struggle in this same area? Feel free to use my declarations. Download them here:


In the meantime, hang up the running shoes that belong to a race that isn't yours, have a cup of tea and lean into God's truth over you and the pace that He has called you to live and accomplish this season's tasks.


Shalom.








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