Valuing Slow . . . and Living it

Cactus in sunlight

Good Afternoon, God!

I’ve been reading the story in Discover magazine about Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe. My Goodness! Expanding faster?

Sigh, then there is me. I’m so slow to grow and make changes that I feel more like the Stones in this photo than the Cactus.

What was I thinking that life is about fast? Hmm. Fast has always been one of my favorite values. I was a sprinter as a young person — how I loved to run fast!

And, perhaps, it is part of what draws me to my wonderful husband, Kit, who is a marathoner. Given that he is a Lark and I am an Owl — he is an ant and I am a grasshopper — he listens to the music and I listen to the words . . . and so forth . . . it should be no surprise that I’m a sprinter and he is a

a saguaro with my grandson Ian down below

marathoner.

Now, having listed what I “am” I can see that because of Kit — and You too, God — I HAVE become more responsible. There HAS been growth. It’s just too slow for me to see or notice. It reminds me of the quote: “Permanence is unobservable change.”

So, being here in Tucson — alone with just my oldest grandson — I have had a chance to gradually relax into slow. I am loving it. I feel as if I am giving myself a chance to unfold and expand into something a little bit more.

This afternoon as Ian and I went for a walk in Sabino Canyon I found myself wondering just how old the very tall saguaro cacti were. It turns out they can live to 150 and grow to 40–60 feet. Saguaros continue to grow in measurable ways. Human growth isn’t so easy to measure or notice. But, I am hoping, God, that with Your help, we can keep on growing, too.