Slow me down, God
With the end of the year only a handful of weeks away, it feels fitting to talk about how fast time seems to fly by. We say it every year, and every year it feels even more true. Do we all agree 2025 was literally like two weeks long? I have no idea how a whole year—365 days—disappears so quickly. Nonetheless, here we are. The last month of the year.
I heard a familiar phrase the other day that captures this feeling well.
“The years go fast, but the days go slow.”
In other words, our present situation feels infinite, like it could go on and on and on. When we are focused on the 24-hour constraint of our reality, a single day can feel like a really long time. Meanwhile, days, weeks, and months continue to pass by. When we flip to the last page of our calendar, we’re struck with a surprising truth. Distracted by the nuances of a single day, the big picture, the grand scheme of our life, feels like a snap of our fingers.
2025 was a wonderful year of highs and lows. I’ll have a whole post dedicated to that reflection. So we’ll save that for later.
But this concept of the short-term feeling fast and the long-term feeling slow is very applicable to our dreams. And that’s what I want to talk about today.
When you are waiting for something, that season of hoping feels infinite. And when that dream comes true? Well, just like that, in one moment, the waiting is over. In retrospect, you likely realize it wasn’t that bad. You weren’t waiting that long.
As it relates to singleness, I’ve heard time and time again from women who’ve lived through years of waiting that this phenomenon is true. They, as I am, and maybe you are, felt like their single season was going to last forever. It felt infinite because there was no definitive end. They were stuck in the short-term. But when God brought the man of their dreams into their story, suddenly that single season didn’t seem so long. And call it crazy, but some of those women said they were actually sad to see that season of waiting go.
Every time I hear a story like that one, I’m not going to lie, I’m a little skeptical. Why would they miss the years of hoping, not knowing when their dream would come true? Well, they probably don’t miss that part. But they do miss elements of singleness. Parts of their lifestyle will never be what they were as a single woman. And that reality of realizing how fast their situation shifted puts everything into perspective. They are now in the long-term mindset.
The bittersweet end of a year is the same as the end of a season. There is joy for what we experienced and excitement for the newness that’s begun. But there is also a somber reflection that the end of a season means some of what we loved is now over.
As I continue to wait on my dream of being in a relationship, I often find myself getting wrapped up in the short term. My mind feels only capable of grasping the 24 years I’ve already lived. Everything I’ve experienced and dream of doing one day is measured on this 24-year scale. The short-term mindset.
It’s also a mindset of justification. I’ve lived 24 years of my life single. If we make that statement a little more realistic, I’ve lived 8 years of my *eligible to date* life single. 8 out of 8. 2 years away from 10. That feels like a long time to wait.
In this timeframe of thought, my impatience is justified. Compared to peers and the “average”, this season of singleness feels long.
But we both know that’s not the whole story.
Because the short-term mindset doesn’t bear positive fruit. If I shift my thoughts to the long-term mindset, there’s not only more hope but contentment that brings peace.
I’m 24 years old. I’ve lived 8 years of my *eligible to date* life single. I hope to live to 100. When I zoom out my timeframe to my whole life (thinking into the future and not tunnel-visioned in my past), this single season is so, so short.
I’ve only lived about 25% of my life. I’ve only been single for like… 10% of it. That’s pretty statistically insignificant on paper. Now, if I’m writing a blog post 25 years from now as a 50-year-old single woman, well… that will be an entirely different conversation. But for now, in the grand scheme of my lifespan, I haven’t been single for that long.
And if I’m focused on timelines and ages and expectations, this reality check brings me peace. It reminds me that maybe I was going too fast. That maybe what I really need is to slow down.
There’s a beautiful song, well, two I’d like to share, actually, but the first one is called “Slow Me Down” by Charles Weems.
Go give it a listen. Pay attention to the lyrics. I’ll wait here until you’re back.
SO GOOD, right?!
It feels like an anthem for a busy mind. It never ceases to snap me back to the present and remind me to abandon my mindset of constrained timelines.
Not to get all sappy on you… but there are truly so many blessings in every season. And when we get stuck in the short-term mindset, we miss them. As Charles Weems beautifully puts it, I want God to “Slow me down, Take my eyes off what's around, [His] Spirit's moving, So I don't wanna miss [His] presence”.
What is God doing in your waiting season? What’s he doing right now? I guarantee there are parts of your life that you absolutely love in this season that won’t always be your reality. In this season—whatever it is for you—I encourage you to think long-term. Slow yourself down. Look for the joy in the waiting.
The second song I want to share is called “One More Day” by Sons of Sunday. Go listen to that one too. Yeah. Right now. Go listen!
The first time I heard (and well, now every time I hear) this song, it did more than bring tears to my eyes. Driving home from work, streams of tears slid down my face. The lyrics felt so pure. Sometimes, we need to be brought back to the absolute basic level of gratitude—for the smallest thing, living one more day.
And not just one more day to get out of bed and live a beautiful life, but one more day to wake up and say, “I love you, Lord”.
Well, great. Now I’m getting emotional in the middle of a Barnes and Noble as I type this out.
But it is so true! When I feel impatient and like my dreams are getting farther and farther away from me, this song also snaps me back to the present. Because holy cannoli, what an absolute humbling gift to be reminded that today was not guaranteed.
But here I am, breath in my lungs, and an emotionally wrecked “I love you” on my lips.
Forget wanting to dance for Disney, fall in love, or witness any of the dreams I hold close to my heart come true.
He gave me one more day. This might be the best mindset to live in. Arguably, the hardest to maintain, but so good for our souls.
God knows exactly what He is doing. He’s having you wait for as “long” as you feel like you are for an insanely good reason. Trust me, His timeline is so much better than ours. I hope you’ll listen to these songs a few times over and let them remind your heart of the grand scheme of your life. It might not feel like it at times, but this season will come to an end. It won’t last forever. So I hope you’ll join me in soaking up the blessings in it.
Remember, you are loved by God, wonderfully made, and beautifully you. Don’t let someone else’s voice speak louder than what’s true.
Until next time…
hugs,
Kylie
