(March 2023 Greenville First UMC newsletter article)
We are coming out of our recent ice storm and the power is still out at the parsonage as I write this.
This morning at Men’s Breakfast I received this text: Spectrum outage message graphic
That is true for so many things.
We are constantly adjusting our expectations about the work we or others do. Business leaders talk about renegotiating our agreements with ourselves and each other as things change in the course of doing our work.
I worked for two years in public accounting before going to seminary. In that first professional accounting job I learned so many things. One rather vivid lesson was about estimating the time for completing the audit of a particular financial section like Cash or Accounts Payable. Fred, my supervisor, asked me to give an estimate for auditing one of these sections. I did and he said to double it and that is how long it should take; then double that estimate and that is how long it will actually take me to complete the work.
It turns out we can be pretty unreliable estimators of our time and projects. And we have this similar condition when it comes to our expectations of God.
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence. (Isaiah 64:1)
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
In our Lenten worship series Practicing Lament, we are learning that God’s absence is a primary complaint in lament. For example, Isaiah’s cry for God to open heaven and get down here! Or the Psalmist who cries, “How long, O Lord?”
Dr. Christopher Davis offers a challenging perspective on this experience:
Another implication of waiting is the reality that God reserves the right to keep us waiting; time was made for humans, not for God. Thus, God is not in a hurry. Another implication of waiting, which is probably the least popular yet the most applicable to the text, is the reality that while God is great, God can also be gradual. When it comes to God’s moves, God’s methods, and God’s miracles, God can be slow (Dr. Christopher Davis, Working Preacher).
One special quality of Lent is the invitation to slow down, not because things are not urgent but because we want to respond in the deepest and most effective ways to the urgent needs.
Kara Swisher interviewed Tim Ferriss on her podcast Recode Decode about this concept:
Kara: …fast has always been looked at as important. That you have to move fast, break things, and all the different things you read about. How does that change when you don’t get to move fast or is there a way to move fast in this environment?
Tim: So you practice doing things very slowly. And if you do things slowly without making mistakes, you can later optimize for speed.
Sometimes when I go too fast through a situation or try to answer a question too quickly I lose my balance or perspective on the issue at hand. And I usually miss additional information that helps make sense of the matter.
Intentionally allowing time for second thoughts can be helpful. Second thoughts may refer to doubt, like, “I’m having second thoughts about some decision/matter/question, etc.” However, what if we use second thoughts in the more positive light of giving further consideration to matters of faith and life? Second thoughts suggest that first thoughts and impressions may not convey the deepest meaning. Further contemplation can bring out better understanding and allow for meaning to emerge over time. The late Howard Thurman, a theologian/pastor/author, referred to the need to allow our decisions and questions to “simmer.”
This Lent let’s develop our capacity to respond when important things take longer than expected by practicing our faith slowly.