This week, as I was leaving a speaking engagement, I accidentally walked into a pole. My focus was on saying hello to someone and I never saw it. Even after it happened, I was like, “What was that?”

Diagnosis: Mild concussion. Prescription: No screens. No TV. No reading. Rest.

In other words, get rid of all the distractions and focus on healing. When I arrived home and shared the saga with my son, he said: “You need to slow down.”

We’re approaching the summer season; one that is known for this very thing. Yet, I find myself, and perhaps you do too, that you want to go, go go; to take advantage of the beautiful weather and pack as much into your day as you can before the gray cold winter nips at our heels.

While it is good to be productive, we can easily turn that into busyness, which leads to overwhelm, exhaustion, and eventually burnout. This is not God’s will for our lives.

Yes, He wants us to be fruitful, but He never called us to be so busy, so distracted that we walk into poles. There is not one verse in the Bible that says: “Jesus ran” or “Jesus was in a hurry.” The only thing Jesus bumped into were people who needed healing and restoration.

If our schedules or lifestyles are frantic, we need to understand why. Here are a few questions we can ask ourselves:

1. Is what I am doing bearing any fruit?
2. Do I enjoy what I’m doing or is it being done out of misplaced obligation?
3. Am I saying “yes” when I should be saying “no”?
4. Am I doing something only because I’ve always done it?
5. Am I afraid to let it go (either delegate it or drop it)?

These are important questions to ask if we find ourselves in a state of nonstop busyness. Just as flowers and trees need regular pruning to promote growth, so do we. Just as these very things need a season of rest in between plantings, so do we.

If we want to learn how to live a balanced life, all we need to do is look at Jesus. He knew exactly how to live unhurriedly and on purpose. How did He do this?

1. He started His day in prayer with His Father in heaven (Mark 1:35).
2. He gave thanks for everything (Matthew 15:36).
3. He spent quality time with His friends and family (Luke 10:38).
4. He went off by Himself in nature to be with His Father (Matthew 26:36).
5. He had a heart to serve others (Mark 10:45).

You see, Jesus was not guided by other people’s expectations. He did not allow Himself to be distracted from His purpose. He was never too busy to spend time with people, to listen to them, to talk with them, to heal them. Never. Never.

Jesus never put a “to-do” list above the people He came to serve. People first. Always.

We may not be able to eliminate everything on our calendars, but we can make strides to streamline it so that we can do the things that bring us joy; so we can make memories with the people we love.

We are about halfway through the year, so this is a great time to re-evaluate our schedules and set a new pace for the rest of 2026. I want to encourage you today to examine your time, make some course corrections, and in the wise words of my son:

“Slow down.”