Slow Me Down, Lord!

 


Vacation Reflections:   A few days ago, we took a short walk before breakfast.  Just around the corner and up and over a hill from our cottage in Charm, OH, was this sight.  This is Buster.  Doe-Doe and Bambi were also visible. I wonder if they knew how blessed they were to be caged during hunting season?!

More unusual than these deer, were four squirrels--two to a cage.  They ran furiously on these wheels--sometimes taking turns, but running constantly while we watched and running every time we passed them later!

The night before, my husband overheard a woman ask the waitress (in the restaurant that closed at 7:00 p.m.), "What do people DO around here after 6:30?"   In our society, people are accustomed to cramming activity into every minute of life - kind of like the squirrels that never seemed to stop running.  We had books and magazines, conversation, and a deck of cards if needed. I had HGTV (a rare treat for me)! We were happy to relax and enjoy the evening.

Slow Me Down, Lord...

Sight along the country road

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace. Give me, amidst the day's confusion, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. 

Teach me the art of taking "minute vacations"...slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me of the fable of the hare and the tortoise; that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed.  Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew slowly and well. 

Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values...that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.  Slow me down, Lord.

(Wilferd Arlan Peterson)