Now don't be hasty, Master Meriadoc...

I am the most impatient person I know. I'm not talking simply of getting from one place to another quickly, or being frustrated about how long my mother takes when she runs in to the store to get a "few" things. I'm talking about all aspects of life. I hate waiting and transition. I want there to be an immediate resolution to every problem. I demand, again and again to God: Now! Now! Now! The value of gradual progression and growth has always been hard for me to accept.

But I am coming to realize the beauty and peace that lies in patience. The "waiting" times, when we are unsure, I think, are the opportunities that God offers us to really get to know him. Instead of constantly pressing forward on our life journey, to instead stop, and take a rest with God. He wants those moments of quiet contemplation when it's just you and Him. There is no reason to constantly jump from one person, place, or thing to the next. There is beauty in stillness.

In a world that is so economical, that is easily forgotten. It's widely thought that if you are being still, then you are not being productive. But those moments of stillness and quiet do so much to rejuvenate the soul, and prepare it for its next great release of energy.

God wants to make great things happen in our lives. But they take time. This beautiful song by Ed Cash illustrates that so well:

The old man saw the fallen tree As far more than just dead wood For love, time and his old sharp knife Could change that tree to something good So each piece of bark he stripped away Using only his weathered hands To find the scent of sweet sticky pine Just the wood for this master's plan Soon free from bark this naked tree Cried out for new design But the patience of the old man Reminded him that great things take time So he had a vision in his mind Of what he wanted that tree to be And he saw that tree as perfect and good Before he touched a single piece So he took the tree back to his home And he set it on his working stone And he began to chip away, chip away And soon he did not feel so all alone The tree began to take shape Oh, his heart began to smile But he knew he still had work to do Because he remembered that great things take time Some pieces of the wood were stubborn And some just cut as easy as the air But he didn't care how long it took to make each part complete Yeah the time he took just showed how much he cared How much he cared Now perhaps in your fearful forest You've found that you have fallen down Don't be sad, don't be scared, no do not be afraid Because there is one who can pick you up off the ground You see if your destiny is to be carved into a perfect thing Then life does not begin until you die to the way you're living.

Our entire lives are one big masterpiece, and time should be taken for every bit of them. If it's worth the time, then it's worth the effort, and the outcome is something beautiful and lasting.

So, as the Ents love to say, don't be hasty. Have peace. Pray. God is there, waiting for you to sit with Him. Every decision in life is important, and God wants to be involved in each one. Allow Him to be. He is (to use a metaphor I favored in my younger days) the great Solvent. Nothing is insoluble to Him. There is no place He doesn't belong, and no thing that He does not have a connection to.

Life does not begin until you die to the way you're living.

So take the time. You will see great things take shape, and your heart will indeed smile.