STEP ONE: BREATHE
Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.
STEP TWO: DWELL in Word
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power and your righteousness O God reach the high heavens.”
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I’m tempted to blow the horn. My travel is going slower than it should, all thanks to the inactivity of the person in the car ahead of me. It’s been three hours since I came to the stop sign. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration. Still, it seems like I’ve been waiting longer than it should take and I have things to do, places to be. The "stupid" driver in front of me is delaying me and, I’m in a hurry. Where did they ever learn to drive? Judgment and unkind words flow effortlessly from my otherwise calm demeanor. Beep! Beep!
Christmas Day seems like it was ages ago. Though the Christmas holiday technically lasts until the end of today, January 5, for all practical purposes, it is over for another year. Back to patterns of basic survival in the suburban wilderness.
In isolated, private vehicles, we scurry from appointment to appointment and task to task as quickly as possible. There is a lot to do, lots of places to be, and we all need to accomplish plenty by the day's end. Of course, that is, unless we get stuck behind someone who is unaware and incapable of driving their vehicle in the manner that we'd have them.
My hand is closer to the horn and about to offer its encouragement to the situation when I notice a big Evergreen tree on the corner. It gives me pause. The large green boughs dusted white by the most recent snowfall is a sight to behold. Even in this cold environment, in the midst of winter, the tree manages to remain green. It invites my patience and awakens my spirit.
My mind drifts back to when I was a child. In Elementary school, my science teacher would orchestrate an annual sale of pine saplings. For a dollar or two, you could buy a tree to plant. I did and learned the lesson that tree growth takes much longer than the attention of a pre-teenage boy. It takes years before a sapling becomes a mature pine. Time and patience are needed.
I don't recall what happened to the sapling I once planted in my backyard. I'm guessing that it didn't make it - apparently, the nurture of my pre-teenage self wasn't sufficient to allow for it to thrive. Since, then, I have watched other trees grow. It requires long-term sight. You watch a tree grow through the years.
The evergreen on the corner must have taken decades to get to be that large. Did a child plant it as a sapling they acquired at school? If so, I wonder if they point out their accomplishment to their grandchildren? I planted that tree when I was your age! Indeed, many seasons have come and gone in its lifetime. How many times has snow blanketed its branches? How many summers has it provided refreshing shade to the bunnies and neighborhood cats?
My thoughts wander further afield. From the vantage point of expanded time, beyond the frenzy of being in the moment, I imagine a bigger picture. Alongside the growth of the evergreens, I sense the shaping of mountains and the carving of the rivers. Each element bears witness to the deliberate and brilliant strokes of a Master artist. Upon the canvas of creation, what wondrous things our Creator has grown!
In my daily scurrying, and fretting about who is slowing me down, I pass right by this big picture without so much as a recognition of its existence. I am too busy to notice. "Slow down, grasshopper," speaks the acquired wisdom of the evergreen, who remains on the corner in all kinds of weather.
Breathe. Allow the gift of your next breath to fill your being with patience. Settle into your place in God's creation. Acknowledge the presence of your Creator who works on a grander, more lasting scale.
Find in the situation of being delayed by another, an opportunity to slow down and connect with someone God has also created in God's image. What are their needs? How might I extend the kindness of Jesus with them?
When we invite patience to dwell in our hearts, we find a host of other virtues quickly blossoming within us. Compassion. Forgiveness. Love. Grace. Now the growth is rapid, and it quickly pushes out judgment, intolerance, self-superiority, pride, bigotry, and hatred. Evil and violence can not grow in such conditions. God smiles as the spirit creates anew within our being.
Suddenly, I hear a beep... someone is laying on their horn. I regain awareness of where I am. I'm at a stop sign. It is my turn to look both ways and go on my way. In my rearview mirror, I see the angry face of impatience. I take a deep breath and turn. As I pass the large evergreen, I smile, grateful for its lesson.
Step Three: RESPOND in prayer
God of bigger pictures, allow me to welcome your presence with a quieter spirit. Give me the patience that I lack. Let me deeply breathe to slow down and learn the lessons that I would otherwise pass by and overlook. Let me see in my connection with others the opportunity to grow as your child. Through the Incarnate Christ, Amen.
Friends,
today is the 12th day of Christmas and the announced “END” of the series. However, I couldn’t resist writing an “EPIPHANY BONUS,” so tomorrow, I will send one more entry your way. As always, thanks for reading. I hope that these words shine a little light on your path.
In Christ’s Light,
Walt