A Time to Slow Down

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Most of us hear the word “self-care” and picture a spa day, a girls’ weekend, new nails, or a quiet walk in the woods. And sometimes that really is what we need. But I’ve learned that self-care doesn’t always look the way we expect. Sometimes the most important care we can give ourselves is simply slowing down long enough to hear God.

For years I mostly connected Ecclesiastes 3 with the changing seasons of the earth—planting and harvest, cold and heat. This year God showed me something more personal: there is also a time for us to slow down. A time to stop running at our dreams and instead listen for His direction.

Early this year I felt a strong urgency about our food supply. I added more meat birds, hatched laying chicks, and brought in ducks. I was tempted every time I saw ads for cows or alpacas. We had raised pigs the previous two years, and I planned to do it again. On top of that I committed to the farmers market and expanded the garden. I kept telling myself I was being careful, taking it slow so I could learn as I went.

Then April arrived. The basement was full of birds, the spare bedroom greenhouse was packed with seedlings, and spring refused to show up. At the same time, serious family health concerns and a sudden financial twist landed on our doorstep. I knew deep down I needed to stop, yet I kept pushing. I ignored that still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12) and pressed forward.

Stress has a way of catching up. Out of nowhere I was hit with shingles that refused to improve for six weeks. Migraines and ongoing ear issues followed. I had no choice but to slow down. In that forced quiet I finally stopped trying to manage every detail myself. I decided against pigs. I stopped scrolling the cow listings, even though a milk cow has long been a dream. I worked the market once a week, cared for the animals I already had, and spent the summer simply getting well and praying, “Lord, show me Your plan. I’m done trying to do Your job.”

Looking back, it wasn’t “out of nowhere.” God had been gently warning me. In His kindness He later opened a door I never could have arranged: the chance to care for a cow without the financial burden of buying her myself. It blesses a friend and gives me space to discover whether this really is the right next step. Once again I am amazed at how He works—and a little embarrassed at how often I still try to take the steering wheel.

Reflection for You

What ways has God surprised you with a change in your life that ended up being exactly what you didn’t know you needed?

Will you take the time to slow down and let Him have full control?

There is a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to build and a time to rest. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is stop striving, be still, and trust that the God who holds every season also holds our dreams.