Growing Slow?

This quote was too good not to share...

"I need to slow down.

And I'm asking the Lord to help me do it.

I want to move slowly enough to be aware of all the joys He has hidden for me.

I want to slow down enough to grow as He wants me to grow. 

I want to be quiet enough to hear His voice. 

I need His wisdom to know how to spend my time and how to order my days."

by Kathryn Hillen

 

It was stunning to stop & ponder about how growing "slow" could possibly be a good thing.

Slow? What????

At first I was thinking, "No! I want to GROW fast! I want to 'get there', be mature! Wise!"

But then...God brought to mind, a dieffenbachia plant I have.

 

When I used to have it in in my very sunny bathroom, it would grow REALLY fast .

So fast that the stems were all slender, and when they would get any taller than about 1 foot,

the whole plant would start leaning over, and eventually fall,

being too heavy for the too slender stem to hold up.

 

Ah-hah.

I finally can see that growing SLOWer can have it's benefits,

that we can be strong & sturdy enough to handle the weight of what He allows into our life.

 

Yes, words to chew on.....and chew on...and chew on.

I can tell it's going to take some chewing to get this "bitter but good for me" news
to go down deep into my soul.

 

The Ocean

By Nancy L. Kenaston

January 2013

The ocean…whatever a mysterious gift I receive there…

the ever-present, unpredictable, continually changing and yet changeless aspect…

the raw, mighty power…

the stunning beauty that I just sit & watch, in awe…

the reminder of how small I am, and how I am not in control of anything but me.

It’s “hushing” voice, calming me…

the flat, steady horizon, helping me focus…

the massive water form that hydrates my soul!

It comes in, and goes out, just like my breath, again & again & again.

It has rhythms and cycles just like me and life.

It carries and holds life, and provides a form of sustenance for us.

It carries deep mysteries we don’t yet know.

I am changed when I am in its presence.

It reminds us all that we are not in charge of this earth,

we are mere stewards, able to manage only small areas.

It provides the water that is continually rising, evaporating, then condensing and falling,

to moisten the earth, which provides food and beauty and variety.

It provides a sense of healing…

And I feel like it always welcomes me, with wide open arms,

having patiently waited for me to return.

Yes, the ocean reminds me of You, God, over & over & over again!
Repeatedly, continually, unfailingly.

It shouts to me, who You are!

Oh, what a gift!