Reading
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 (NRSV)
Reflection
Our society greatly values speed. More so than we tend to realize. We expect people to text us back immediately, shop using one-click ordering, and try countless “quick fixes” for our health and wellness. There are moments when we try to slow down, but if you’re like me, you end up feeling guilty for not being “productive enough.” But something I’ve come to learn is that if I don’t slow down on my own, God will find a way to make me slow down.
Last week, God’s reminder to slow down came in the form of snow and ice. I was at my grandmother’s house in her small Texas town when the storm hit, so I ended up spending that time with my family. While I was there, I helped my grandmother care for the plants in her greenhouse, including my grandfather’s satsuma tree. Satsumas are a type of mandarin that my grandfather grew up eating in Louisiana. He had planted several satsuma trees since he moved to Texas in the 60s, but it wasn’t until the last five years that any had actually produced fruit.
Oftentimes, I feel that God is working slowly—slower than I would like. But as 2 Peter reminds us, it is we who perceive it as slowness. God is not working within us slowly, but patiently. And just as God is patient with us, we need to be patient with him, learning to trust that his promise and our transformation will come in his timing, not ours.
Even though year after year my grandfather saw no fruit on his tree, he kept caring for it diligently, trusting that one day those small white blooms would turn into the satsumas he was longing for. So let us continue on, diligently tending to our faith, watching as the long, slow, patient work of God blooms into the promise we have hoped for.
Prayer
Holy and Patient God,
May I take what I perceive
to be the slowness of your work
as a sign that it is taking deep root,
changing me for my good and your glory.
Amen.
