A Hurried Life

by Samantha Decker

With tired eyes, sagging shoulders, and an aching lower back, I placed the computer on top of my seven-month pregnant belly and opened it. However, as soon as I started digging through the pile of unending work emails, my two-year-old screamed my name from the bathroom—which is never a good thing—the doorbell rang, and the oven timer beeped.

Rushed, I ran to get the one-sheet-pan dinner out of the oven, motioned to my friend to come on in and drop off the sippy cup my son had left at her house the day before, and dashed to inspect the damage done to the bathroom (let’s just say toilet paper was everywhere).

Not only that, but as I looked around, I saw every toy tractor, truck, and train we owned lined up along our cherry-walnut chest my Papa made me, loads of laundry overflowing, mail piled up on the counter, and a general state of mess. I was swimming in chaos.

Busy was the norm, and because it had become my norm, I wasn’t stressed or overwhelmed. And yet, I wasn’t present.

I had made my life hurried.

I spent most of my days jumping from one task to the next. I had become a master at marking off my to-do list, multitasking, and making plans obsessively.

As pastor and author Ben Stuart describes it in his book Rest & War, I felt like an octopus on roller skates––plenty of movement, just not necessarily forward; busy, but not productive.

That same fall evening, I walked down the worn pathway to the mailbox and my kind neighbor casually asked how things were going. I responded as I normally did: “Oh, I’m good, busy . . . but good.” Her response is what stuck with me. She said, “I don’t know how you do it all.”

Honestly, at that moment, her words felt like a badge of honor. They meant I was doing more than she was, that she was impressed with how much I could do, and in some way, I was achieving more. My ugly, selfish pride surged.

Later, I opened my Bible, planning to do my daily Bible reading I hadn’t seemed to have time for earlier in the day. I opened to Haggai only to read this:

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:5–6 (NIV)

In the stillness of the night, the Lord’s conviction came raining down as my sweet neighbor’s words echoed in my mind.

“I don’t know how you do it all.”

Those few words weren’t a badge of honor; they were a call to action. They were an indication my life was full of misplaced priorities. Like the people Haggai addressed, I was striving, but never satisfied. I was failing to do what God had called me to do and be who God had called me to be. My life was like “a purse with holes in it.”

In the book of Haggai, the temple was destroyed, and yet God’s people focused on building their own houses and pursuing their own success instead of following the Lord’s command to rebuild His temple. So often, we are like these Israelites. We pursue financial security, job success, do-it-all parenting, and endless pleasures over the commands and will of God.

What about you? Are you exhausted from planning and re-planning, and still feeling like you can’t get it all done? Does it seem like you’re constantly on the go, physically or mentally, and rest is unattainable? Have you traded peace, ease, and purpose for striving, achieving, and success?

The good news is God will meet us where we are and work within our schedules and circumstances if we let Him. This may involve replacing “good” things with the things God’s calling us to do or looking for opportunities to say a sacred no when our plates are full.

However, the reality of “doing it all” and “being busy” is probably present in your life as well. We are encouraged and often even forced to be on the go. We say yes without thinking. We make plans to have plans and fail to set and maintain the boundaries we desperately need.

As a result of this hurried and busy lifestyle, we sacrifice what we don’t even realize we are sacrificing: the things that matter.

An article in the New York Post reported that American families get just 37 minutes of quality time together per day. Thirty-seven minutes. There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Our quality time comprises just a little over 2.5 percent. What are we doing with the other 97.5 percent?

Once the reality of this lifestyle began to soak in, I started asking God to show me what I was missing.

What did Scripture show me? What did the people far wiser and more experienced than me do to prevent this chaos? How could I slow down, eliminate the mess, and make time for the things that matter? The most basic answer I discovered was the need to lay aside my plans for the purposes of God. I needed to create margin.

My book, Unhurried, is about slowing down, creating space, and ultimately joining God in the work He is already doing. It’s a call to make small, moment-by-moment changes that have the potential to impact eternity. Above all, this book is written to give God glory: glory in my words and in my actions, and in the bigger story they tell.

This is the story of a God who knows how to rest. A God who has everything under control. A God who gave His only Son to save us from our sins and the bondage they bring. In Christ, there is freedom from striving, busyness, and hurry. But it requires surrender. Are you ready to take off these weights and follow Jesus with every area of your life?

Adapted from Unhurried by Samantha Decker (© 2025). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

Samantha Decker is a wife, mom, writer, and above all, a follower of Jesus. She is passionate about encouraging believers to deepen their walk with Jesus through discipleship relationships and an unrelenting love for the Word of God. She and her husband, Dustin, live in Oklahoma and enjoy serving in their local church, trying new restaurants (especially if it’s Tex-Mex), and adventuring with their three rambunctious boys. You can connect with her at samanthadeckerwrites.com