Rushed Life

As you move through the stages of your life, you will invariably learn that things aren’t always as they are cracked up to be. And as amazing as life can be, there are also harsh truths that you tend not to acknowledge until they are staring you in the face. Just like life after the Physician Licensure Examination, I thought it was the end of my torture in making decisions. Oh boy, it was full of adjustments as being a full-fledged adult struck real hard. I began to see the “real” world as a late bloomer who spent the years acquiring knowledge and honing my skills to become a good doctor for my future patients.

I am grateful to finally reach this point, to reach this far where I achieved my dream of becoming a licensed doctor but I began to question my future when I began to compare my progress to other people who are already financially stable (and I’m just starting), who are getting engaged and married or having kids my age (funny how I have dreamt of being a multigravid mother LOL but it’s starting to get really vague now haha), and living their lives. Although I have already carefully thought about these major aspects in life before I entered medical school but I didn’t know that it would really hit hard that I’m now about to start my residency training and that I’m ending my 20s phase. Haha.

I have always wondered the science behind every human being in a hurry. You see the irony. We rush about as a means to an end: as a method for getting results in the form of good experiences, such as relaxation and happiness. I am guilty of it but really, why are we in such a rush? Is there a deadline to it? Do we expect God to follow our planned schedule? Should we do it our way or His way? It is so easy to be consumed by the lie of being productive. We want everything to be done according to what we expect it to be and if it turned out differently, we lose hope to who God is.

Rushing crushes our lives little by little. It is when we rush that we lose patience over the smallest of things. When we rush, we forget to enjoy the joy of little victories. When we rush, some relationships are thrown over and left behind. We abandon people when we rush. We think highly of ourselves and forget that life is not a race.

A rushed life is a life that lack in love. Hurry is absolutely not compatible with joy. It is incompatible with love. It is incompatible with peace. When we are in a hurry, we don’t get to soak in God’s presence that gives us that kind of joy, peace, and love. We are just too much in a hurry to experience the life with God.

Come to think of it. My worse moments were from those times that I was in a rush to make decisions. When I am in the moment to hurry, I lose control of most things. I start to lose my temper and gentleness. I have seen my day when I am in a rush so many times and it’s filled with doubts, unfulfillment, frustration, and confusion. Just like a day in the hospital especially when I am on a 24 hour duty- I really forget a lot of things and I don’t respond well most especially when I am in a hurry to finish my work. We get too busy prioritizing so many things that we lose the chance to prioritize that one thing that truly matters- our time with God.

You see, each season of our lives has its place and purpose. There is a season to be a child and a season to be an adult. A season to be single and to get married. A season of struggles and a season of resiliency and stability. Not because we see someone in their 20s achieving their dreams, e.g. opening a coffee shop of their own, finishing a postgraduate course, buying their own house and lot, traveled to countless destinations, getting married, finally learning to cook that perfect crisp of adobo pork, that we have to bear the spirit of pressure upon us. Don’t be in a rush. Take your time because you will get there at the right time. Don’t miss “the now”; the good things this season has for you. Just remember that wherever we are right now is a season that God has placed in our lives to take pleasure in and enjoy.

Be at your pace.

Sincerely yours 🙂