SLOWING DOWN TO CATCH UP

​During my recent visit to Cambodia i got around by riding in tuktuks, which are trailers pulled by a motorcycle.  i also rode on the back of various people’s motos.  i didn’t try to ride a moto myself (although i could have since i rode motorcycles for fifteen or twenty years here in the States) because the rules of the road are so different in Cambodia.  People often enter traffic without yielding to those already on the road, often turn in front of others and against oncoming traffic, and sometimes ride their motos on the wrong side of the road.  Outside the city limits there aren’t any traffic signs at intersections and so when two busy highways cross it’s a free-for-all.
 
So anyway, like i said, i got a chance to ride on the back of many people’s motos, and they all drove similarly, except one particular friend.  He definitely drove slower and more meekly than everyone else.  One time i also got to ride as a passenger in his car and it was the same thing: he drove slower than everyone else.  So i made a joke of it, using virtually the only Khmer word i knew, muy muy, which doesn’t mean “very, very,” like it does in Spanish, but “very slow.”
 
My friend explained to me that he used to drive fast, which i took to mean the same speed as everyone else, but then he was convicted that he wasn’t leaving room for God to lead him.  So he slowed down and created enough margins around what he was doing so he could attend to God and be led by Him.  i suspect that now applies to many different realms of his life, although at that time he was specifically talking about his driving.
 
“Wow!” i said, “that’s amazing!”
 
i’m writing about it now, because i need to learn that way of living.  It’s something Brother Lawrence also learned, that’s covered in his little book, “Practicing The Presence.”  Brother Lawrence would eat so slowly and intentionally that every bite he placed in his mouth would be guided by the hand of God.
 
Father, i’m hearing You loud and clear.  Teach me Your way to live.  Amen.