the beauty of slow

Last year I planned to have wildflowers around the back edge of the prayer garden. I scattered them around, lightly covering them with dirt and water. Little by little they began to appear, though not as densely as I’d imagined.

I hoped, because the seeds were a mixture of annuals and perennials, that some of them would come back in later years.

This spring, I purchased another bag of wildflower seeds from a different supplier and decided to try my luck again, widening the area I sowed.

I was so surprised when, after a few weeks, the wildflowers began coming up en masse!

The new area I sowed this spring is still sparse and slow to grow, but the original area - absolutely beautiful, lush and colorful.

It seems it took two springs, two bags of seeds, two times of tending - two years to see real results.

Isn’t that often the way of life?

We sow seeds - of character, faith, friendship, trustworthiness, love - hopeful for timely results, but are often left wanting. Small seedlings are too delicate, the roots too shallow, and our hopes dwindle away along with our patience.

So we have a choice: we can impatiently give up or we can stay on the course of slow.

Gardening is changing my perspective of measured time. It’s teaching me to patiently wait in hope of a better yield.

Maybe you struggle with wanting instant results, too. Our culture’s same day delivery and instant access are wreaking havoc on our expectations. As speed goes up, our impatience skyrockets with it and we forget the value of the slow and steady. We discount the merit of waiting.

And hurry can seep into our time with Jesus, too.

Do you ever find yourself in a rush when you take time to be with God? A quick prayer, a skimmed verse, a checkmark on the to-do list.

But God’s economy is not like Amazon’s. We can’t place an order, take Prime delivery and expect results by 9pm. He works in unboundaried, perfect timing, more like scattering wildflower seeds. Sowing. Tending. Watering. Waiting.

I wanted photo-worthy wildflowers last year. But God wanted to teach me that His creation rhythm cannot be rushed.

He patiently reminds me, “All in good time.“

The beauty of slow.

Today is a GOOD day!

Natalie