Advent 2 – The Gift of Slowing Down

By Ruth Rice

So here it is … the season to be jolly , to be busy, to overeat, overspend and often be overwhelmed. But does it have to be that way? 

I think this could be the very season that we have a go at dancing to a different tune, of finding the way of peace that is really at the heart of this season of the year. 

In my book Slow Down, Show up and Pray,  I explain my own journey from burn out into habits of wellbeing. The slowing down was enforced in my case by ill health. It was not fun and it was not something God did. However, it was the richest seam of learning and the catalyst for a new way of being.   

The slowing down was key.  

The slowing down enabled me to see how much I was living in my own strength, trying to please a God who already loved me completely. 

Simple practices of rest, play and prayer now punctuate my days, my weeks, my months and my years, and form the basis for not just my community of faith but for many more wellbeing communities springing up around the country and beyond.  

One of my top habits is to take my first cuppa of every day and sit still until I have finished it and then to “fill the cup” with a meditation on a little bit of the Psalms. The cup represents my life, held in God’s hands. The practice reminds of that time when I broke myself with overwork, the stillness reminds me that there is a God and it isn’t me. The world still spins when I do not!  

Added to this I have simple daily rhythms for prayer that are shared with others across the day and hobbies that are not squeezed in around busyness but are prioritised as essential.  

I wonder what habits and practices are in your life and your diary that will help you practice peace as you celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace this year?   

I love all the trappings of Christmas - I am a big kid at heart. But I will be choosing stillness every time I pick up my festive cuppa over these busy days. How about you? Will you join me?   

Slow Down, Show Up & Pray

You can buy Ruth’s books from all good bookshops or to buy online click the button below.