These days most people live a fast-paced, social media, instant-gratification life. Pinterest, Wunderlist, and other apps offer ways to make one’s life more organized and enable people to force their lives into a checklist of things to be done. It seems rather convenient—-to have such organization with the immediate satisfaction of achievement and communicate through instant connection with SnapChat, Periscope, IG, or text.
Here at The Village, the living is pretty slow. We frown on checking off boxes just for the sake of checking them and instead promote taking the time to pray about, consider, and think through priorities in one’s life. We take time to set goals with our participant families, giving them space to breathe and dream of what their future can hold. Life, we have found, is best lived slowly. It is meant to revolve around meaning and presence. It is meant to happen in a way that is reflective of intention and purpose.
Work here is walking together through all of our joys and brokenness and finding a space to celebrate achievements and mourn losses and have hard discussions. It is a time of digging deep and sitting together to work things out and figure out future plans. It can be a time of rest and safety after uncertain times of stress and vulnerability.
Slow life isn’t always nice and easy and simple. It laments with others during struggle while knowing better days come. Living (and by living I mean being aware, growing and learning) through the struggle makes us better and prepares us for new life, redeems us, and uses our experience to help others heal.
Think about how your life is…what adjectives characterize it? What are the antonyms of those words? Do you experience joy through walking with others? Do you experience lament with them? Think through the benefits of doing more than checking boxes and quickly moving forward and how that could change your life and perspective.