On Growing Slow
The tree in the backyard blooms all white and flowery and I’m shocked every year by the simple beauty of it. I forget that before our trees turn green, they flower. Our whole neighborhood is filled with them, and when the wind hits the trees just right this time of year, it looks like snow in springtime as their petals fall to make room for the round, smooth green leaves.
I was telling this to my friend, Amy, this week as we walked the trails admiring the gorgeous weather and spring’s sweet invitation to come alive again. I had never known the name of the trees in our neighborhood, but I learned something new when she told me she thinks they’re flowering pear trees. Not because they grow fruit, but because their fullness makes them look like giant pears. I nod my head in agreement.
She points to one on the trail that looks identical to the ones in my neighborhood, confirming that yes, I do indeed own a flowering pear tree, and so does 90% of my neighborhood. She agrees their blooms are beautiful, but tells me that they’re usually planted because of how fast they grow. Her husband doesn’t care much for them, she tells me, because in a storm they’re usually the first to go.
I wonder aloud why, and she says they grow so fast that their roots aren’t strong so they fall in the face of mother nature’s adversity.
What a metaphor for life.
Grow too fast — push your way past the hard part of growing slow — and you fall when the wind blows too hard, weak roots exposed.
I get why most of us want to grow fast, and why the trees want to grow fast. Growing fast usually means stuffing down the pain of surrender, not feeling the ache of stretching, and filling the emptiness and loneliness with distraction and pleasure. We live in a culture that tells us fast and comfortable is better than slow and afflicted.
And I suppose I get it. I mean, who wants to go through the hard stuff?
But what I know from experience is that when the pain is stuffed, the control isn’t surrendered, and the filling doesn’t lead to God, a life can break right open. And maybe sometimes, it needs to. Sometimes the trees have to fall so that something stronger and more resilient can be planted in their place. Sometimes a heart has to break in order to let the Light leak in.
But I think slow growth is worth the ache — worth the breaking — because it’s in growing slow with God that a healthy soul is formed and molded. This is where strong roots take hold of the dirt beneath the earth and are able to withstand the power of any storm because the power of the God Who planted and grew those roots far outweighs any squall.
Here in growing slow, we find ourselves weak so that we can be made strong.
But how?
How do we let ourselves be formed and grown slowly? Over time, over the ache and the hurt and the pain? How do we let it all happen, let it all in — the chaos and tumult of this messy, beautiful life — while remaining open to Him?
I believe the answer lies right there in the Scriptures — in Colossians 2:6-7,
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (NIV)
The answer to hard questions is to always live within God, to let Him be the One Who strengthens our roots and tenderly helps us up when we’ve lost our balance. It’s ok to lose your way because it’s on the slow way Home that you find out Who God really is — who you really are.
How strong your roots really are.
Live life in God, let Him tend to you, and give thanks — perhaps this is what it means to live a life of deeply rooted faith. So that when the hard parts come and the storms rage on, you know you’re already at Home.
I say we be a people who believe that the hard stuff is where the strong stuff is made.
Peace be with you,
Celia
A Breath Prayer for Your Weekend
breathe in:
Be.
breathe out:
Rooted.
*if you’d like to learn more about the practice of breath prayer, check out this blog post I wrote titled, How to Use Breath Prayer.
Join the Sacred Spaces Community
Are you longing to be more attentive to God’s presence in your everyday life?Â
Do you have the desire to know God’s love and grow in deeper communion with Him?
Are you sensing the Spirit’s invitation to grow spiritually but don’t know where to begin?
Do you feel tired, worn out, or burnt out on religion?
Are you craving rest, refreshment of soul, and perhaps a different way of being with God?
In the Sacred Spaces community, we’re going to journey deeper into the heart of God together, putting our ears to His chest as we gently trod toward Homebase, by exploring different Christian contemplative practices that are designed to open our hearts to the Spirit’s leading and loving voice in our souls and lives. By subscribing to Sacred Spaces for just $5 a month, you’ll gain immediate access to:
monthly emails that will be sent out on the 1st of every month containing that month’s spiritual practice, action steps, and tools, outside additional resources, and weekly reflection questions
Soul Care Sessions, where you can book a 30-minute one-on-one Zoom call with me to talk about that month's spiritual practice, what the Lord is revealing to you, or what you're wrestling with. It's an invitation to come as you are as the Holy Spirit leads our time together and cares for your soul
a community chat in the Substack app where you can engage with other community members and me about that month’s email or whatever else may be stirring within you
Click here to join or read more about it:
Resources & Good Things to Pick Up
I’ve been contemplating and meditating on this poem by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr. this week about a tree with strong roots. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I have: The Oak Tree
We’re almost a week past Easter and I’ve been pondering what it looks like to live within the resurrection of Jesus. I found Ann Voskamp’s article this week on that very subject to be incredibly soulful and insightful: How Does Resurrection Really Matter the Week After?
Writer and spiritual director, Izabela Cormier, offers an online monthly ‘end of the month reset’ giving you an opportunity to reflect and reset at the end of each month. You can sign up here: Monthly Reset
My friend and licensed spiritual director, Kari Bartkus, offers an 8-week journaling program for those who are wanting to process their grief and trauma with God within the safety of blank journal pages. I’ve completed the program myself and can say confidently that it was incredibly impactful and healing: Journal Gently
Grab some breath prayer cards, a journal, and other contemplative resources from my Etsy shop: The Beholding Co.
Grab a copy of my Bible study, You Are Beloved: a 21-day study on how to root your identity in the love of God, over on Amazon. And if you’d like a free 3-day sample of the study, hit reply to this email and I’ll send it right over!
An Invitation to Pause & Reflect
A regular practice of reflection helps us recognize what’s going on beneath the surface of our souls so we can name it in the Lord’s presence. Because as we learn to name what we feel, what we need, and what we long for, we’re also learning to discern the Spirit’s sweet, gentle voice within our hearts and lives.
Take a few moments today or this weekend to journal or contemplate with the Holy Spirit the following question(s) or prompt(s):
Take a few moments to quiet yourself in the presence of the Lord and name what feels heavy and hard right now. Then, take a moment to name what feels light and joyful.
How are your hardships and your joys forming you in this season?
Awwww, those Bradford Pear trees inspired a blog!!!!