Go Slow. Be Gentle.

Go slow. Be gentle.

Sounds like a cliché bumper sticker, but I like it. Plus, it’s biblical. Paul encourages us to walk with humility and gentleness (Ephesians 4:1-2), and Jesus is even described as gentle in Matthew 21:5.

However, it doesn’t seem that easy for me. Just about every day I find myself working hard to accomplish my list of tasks, make decisions, and take actions. Often, days pass quickly, and so do the weeks; I find myself struggling to even remember what happened the day before.

Many who would describe themselves as “busy” probably can relate. But while being busy and efficient are at face value morally neutral, sometimes I also find myself acting too quickly, making snap judgements, and rushing to conclusions.

For example, I remember once when I told my daughter Amelia that I would give her some gum, and that she had better not swallow it (or else!). You probably know how the story ends: she swallowed it and so I immediately and curtly told her she couldn’t have gum UNTIL HER NEXT BIRTHDY (which was 9 months away). Not my finest dada moment.

Last week, Mary was talking about the importance of being intentionally slow and gentle, regardless of the circumstances. That really stuck with me, because it seems like when we slow down, we not only see more of what’s around us, but we see more clearly the divine beauty in what God has made.

If I had taken time to slow down and be gentle with Amelia, I could have seen the situation more clearly for what it was and what it wasn’t. Perhaps I would have empathized, remembering how many pieces of gum I swallowed as a child. Perhaps I could have turned the situation into a game or a story or a joke.

At the very least my parental decision would have likely been more appropriate, and I wouldn’t have come away feeling like I failed as a dad in that moment. Luckily Amelia gives me many chances to get this parenting business right.

For this week, my goal is to go extra slow and be purposefully gentle. Will you try it with me? If so, will you let me know how it goes?

In this theme, I will leave you with one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems. If you can, it’s best to read it out loud and to pause at the punctuation marks (not necessarily at the end of the line).

When I am among the trees, especially the

willows and the honey locust, equally the

beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off

such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself, in

which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world but

walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light

flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,

“and you too have come into the world to do

this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to

shine.”

David Sloan