Slow down, you’re going too fast

Last Sat, I went from a lunch in church where the China ladies had cooked dumplings to the convention centre to attend a volunteer appreciation ceremony.  Typical of me, as there was some slack time, since the Guest of Honour was supposed to arrive at 2.30 pm, and I was nearly there before 2 pm, I decided to detour to the beautifully restored Chijmes to check out a restaurant that my centre wanted to book for a private function.  By the time I was through and got into the carpark of the convention centre, it was 2.20 pm, and horror or horrors, the car park was indicating few lots left.  This is such a brilliant service on the part of the landlord, that the row of lights along each row of car park lots lights up, and shows green where there is a vacant lot, and red where it is occupied.
So I went round and down to the floor where it was indicated they had about 5 lots left in the entire car park.  However, as I went down one lane, eye desperately on the time, I noticed, too late from the directional green lights that the vacant lots were down a lane left of me which I had just passed.  Without thinking, and catching a quick glance to make sure no one was behind me, I immediately reversed, only to hear a loud bang.  I had knocked the bumper of a car that was heading down that lane to my right back towards those empty lots.  Guilty as charged!  Quickly exchanging phone numbers for me to settle damages, I desperately looked for another lot to go into, and this time, because of late-ness, decided to go into one of the reserved lots, on basis that these corporate lots would not be needed on a shopping weekend.  Indeed, the light box above this row of reserved lots showed “Available” except for mine, which i discovered, after I had gingerly parked (for fear of denting my car in my great hurry), said 24 hours reserved. It was a diplomat’s parking lot!

No choice – desperate to beat the Minister to his entry, I dashed up, and prayed throughout the Awards ceremony that God would have favour on me to prevent my car being clamped.  The moment the ceremony finished, pre-reception, I dashed down to find, to my relief, that my car was still intact, and I had not received a parking ticket!  Not only that, as I moved the car, thinking of going back to reception only if I could find a lot, there it was not so far down from where I was parked.

On Mon, the estimated bill came – $711.  Ouch – painful!  To think that that money could have gone towards humanitarian organisations like World Vision to feed the hungry.  Not that it might have gone that way, but that alternative would  have been preferred to paying a car workshop for repairing the bumper.

Surely the Lord is teaching me something, and this was confirmed yesterday as I drove out for a corporate lunch scheduled for 12.30 pm.  As usual, squeezed in one extra mail before I left past noon, and guess what, at each traffic light, major and minor all the way there, I got a red!  By this I knew the Lord was grabbing my attention to teach me a precious lesson – SLOW DOWN!!  It was like He was telling me, girl, you are going too fast.  Pack in less things in your schedule, refrain from adding on things at the last minute, simplify.

Today, I vaguely remember a song, was it from the Beatles, that went “slow down, you’re going too fast”.  Wish I could remember which song that was.  It should be my anthem for this moment in my life when I need to be still, and know that He is God, instead of dashing around like a headless chicken.

“Cease striving, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).