Does anyone like speed bumps? Well, perhaps the families who live where traffic zooms appreciate them. One time when my twins were toddlers, I was changing a girl's diaper as I heard a truck send up a beep. Instantly, I knew that the driver was alerting me that my other child was in the road looking up at him. Which she was. At the time, my road did not simply have speed bumps. It was one long speed bump. If you wanted to hang on to your muffler, you proceeded cautiously. 

 

But most of the time I wish that such horizontal warts did not get in the way of my progress. I want to drive at the speed that suites me, regardless of local residents. 

 

There are times when it feels like God has dropped spiritual speed bumps in my path. I am barreling ahead toward a goal, and someone interrupts me. When there were children at home, it was a squabble in the living room when I was trying not to burn supper. Or a baby who refused to be put down when I wanted to vacuum. 

 

Now that children are gone, the speed bumps are disguised like a sore back, or cancelled plans. Regardless of the excuse, I suspect that God is enticing me to slow down. 

 

Sometimes, when the baby didn't want to be put down, it served us both for me to keep holding her. When kids argued, it brought my attention to them. Even aches can be the occasion for stepping aside from my to do list. 

 

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46