Slow Down

"Slow down, you're moving too fast,
you got to make the morning last
just kickin' down the cobblestones,
looking for fun and feeling groovy."

Nothing like a little Simon and Garfunkel to bring you to reality. Lately, I've discovered the joy of patience. I've been reading Mark Yaconelli's book Contemplative Youth Ministry. The book's main argument is that we need to be more attentive to God and more attentive to the kids and adults under our leadership. If the book had a subtitle, it would be, "Chill out, and just be."

A few weeks ago, I realized that I'm past the age of change. I'm no longer moving every year or starting new classes every semester. My job is stable, and I'm not pursuing any romantic relationships. Until I moved to the OBX, my life had been in constant transition for at least the past 8 years. But now that I'm settling down, I'm seeing that life change takes awhile. Relationships take time to build. Spiritual maturity takes time, too, because it involves relationship building. I so badly want to see youth and young adults come to know Christ deeply, but I'm learning to be patiently prayerful.

Now that I'm lowering my expectations for immediate life change, I'm learning to love just being with God and just being with kids. There's less stress, more appreciation for the way God designed each individual. I'm doing more watching and listening, more intentional loving. It's slow, but I think it's more authentic.