I remember being on holidays a few years ago and using a borrowed GPS to help guide us as we drove around. On one of the first days of our trip we were driving along a fairly new looking highway and I saw a sign pointing to the turn-off for our destination, but the GPS said to keep going straight. Not being sure what to do, I followed the directions of the GPS as I assumed it would take me to another turn-off further up the road. The next thing we knew, as we continued driving along this new looking highway, the image on the GPS showed that we were driving through open space and the voice from the GPS was demanding that we find the nearest road and turn around as soon as possible. It turned out that the maps in the GPS hadn’t been updated and the road we needed to take was significantly different to the road the old maps showed.
Over the last 6-12 months or so, life has felt a bit like that moment on the highway. We thought we had an understanding of where we were going and how to get there, but life has taken some unexpected turns and it seems like the route we need to take is a bit different to what we first thought. It doesn’t mean our destination is different, but that maybe we will get there a different way. One of the things that we had to do when the GPS didn’t work as planned on our holiday was slow down and allow ourselves to get a clearer picture of where we needed to be and how we needed to get there. We needed to seek other input as to the best way to safely reach our destination and create the opportunity to get on the right road.
One of 
our big focuses at The Purposed Initiative is encouraging you into intentional living, and part of living intentionally is allowing yourself to rest. In fact, it is such an important part that we did a blog on it last year. What I’ve come to realise recently is that as much as we encourage other people to do this, we haven’t necessarily been the best at doing it ourselves. Life has been challenging and has become increasingly busy and demanding, and we haven’t been the best at being intentional in creating the space we need. Instead of slowing down, we have kept pushing as much as we can to try to get things done. This has led to us being tired, feeling overwhelmed at times and not being able to be as effective as we would like to be. It has meant that despite the best of intentions we have not been able to do what we want to do because we have simply run out of steam. It is time for us to step back, to slow down, and to be intentional about how we live our lives.
So what does this mean for The Purposed Initiative and for 30 for 30? Does it mean we are giving up and shutting down? Not at all. In fact, slowing down will enable us to keep going. We are still going to be producing blogs, they just won’t be weekly for a while. We’re still going to be seeking opportunities to deliver Show Love and Choose Well because we have a strong belief in the importance of education about safe relationships, but by slowing down we will make sure that when the opportunities arise we are in the space to make the most of them. We will still be pushing ahead with 30 for 30 and the Courage and Hope Fundraising Party in September. By slowing down we can give this event the attention and effort it needs to be a success and raise as much funds as possible to support women escaping family violence. And from these opportunities we will be looking for other ways to continue being intentional in these areas.
What about you? How are you going at living intentionally? When we got off track because of an out of date GPS it wasn’t the end of the holiday, it simply meant we needed to stop, find other ways of moving forward, and then get back on the right road. In the same way, life can often take turns that we don’t expect. As we enter the second half of 2017, why not take a moment to reflect on where things are at for you? Are you heading where you want to be heading? Are you getting the rest that you need to keep going? Is it time to slow down, get your bearings, and then get going again? Or are you in the opposite position where you know where you need to be going, but you need to get up and get moving? Wherever you are at today, don’t let habit or fear keep you from being doing what you need to do to live your life intentionally.
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