At some point, slowing down becomes not just a personal choice but an act of stewardship — a decision to guard what is most precious from the forces that would destroy it.

Discussion Questions

6 questions

1.The image of a crossing guard — someone who stops traffic to protect the vulnerable — is a striking one. What in your life most needs that kind of protection right now? What is most at risk from the pace you are living at?

2.Niequist writes about the moment she realized that her children were experiencing her as absent even when she was physically present. Have you had a similar realization — about your children, your spouse, a friend, or even yourself? What was the wake-up moment?

3.She talks about the way that good things — important work, meaningful relationships, even ministry — can become threats to the best things if we let them multiply without limits. What good things in your life might currently be crowding out the best things?

4.Being a crossing guard requires authority — the willingness to say "stop" to things that have the right of way in every other context. What gives you the authority to set limits in your own life? Where does that authority come from?

5.Niequist is writing, in part, as a mother — protecting the childhood of her sons. But the principle extends further. Who or what are you responsible to protect, and are you doing it? What would faithful protection look like?

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