31 Days: Putting down Roots

Photo Credit: John Pretty via Compfight cc

Today I returned to Alan Fadling’s book, An unhurried life: following Jesus’ rhythms of work and rest. In it he describes how early in his ministry Jesus visited the synagogue in Nazareth and announced his purpose by reading these verses from Isaiah 61:

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…

And if Jesus had kept reading he would have come to these words in verse three:

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

I was struck by this image and Fadling’s explanation that we are “these oaks of righteousness planted by the Lord [to] put his splendour on display, a display quite different from human excitement, enthusiasm and thrills. Splendor is quieter, stronger, less hurried and more deeply rooted.”

As I read this I was reminded of a gorgeous picture book called Tina the Tree by Andrew McDonough. You can read the whole story on the Lost Sheep website, but if I may summarise here, Tina the tree lives by a life-giving river in the hot dry climate of Australia. Tina loves to show hospitality to all the living creatures around her. But soon Tina is running herself ragged trying to help everyone.

What they really need is for Tina to stay by the river and sink her roots into the water. Strong and healthy, she can provide food, safety and shelter for the creatures who need her.

We are designed to display the Lord’s splendour, and we can’t do that by constantly running around in a hurry trying to get more done. As we are planted by the Lord we need time to be still, to send down roots and to grow in him.

This is Day 5 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).

31 Days: Slowing Down to Rest

Have you ever noticed how worry and hurry seem to be joined at the hip?

When I’m worried that I’m going to be late, I hurry. When I’m worried that I won’t get everything done that needs to be done when it needs to be done, I hurry. When I’m worried that I’m not going to meet the expectations and timeframes of others, I hurry.

When I’m in a hurry I’m only interested in the destination. When I’m in a hurry I’m tight and tense. Everything about me is hurried. I walk faster, I talk faster, my breathing is shallower (if I remember to breathe at all – sometimes I catch myself holding my breath), my movements lose their coordination and I get clumsy. When I’m in a hurry I lose my patience and my tolerance for the slowness of others.

When I’m in a hurry I only notice what I need to get to where I’m going. When I’m in a hurry I become a person I don’t much like.

But when I choose to slow down, when I start to breathe again, I look around and I start to notice the things around me. The things that help me rest.

I notice the morning sunlight illuminating blossom petals in my garden.

I notice how the muscles in my legs move as I walk (a little slower). How the rhythm returns to my stride.

I notice the expressions on the faces of the people I meet.

I notice the floating duck silhouetted against the last blush of twilight on my way home from work.

I notice how the spring air is soft on my skin.

I notice the scent of flowers in the evening.

When I slow down, I hear God whispering and I realise that he’s been speaking to me all along.

In An Unhurried life, Alan Fadling writes, “When I found myself slowing down inside, the Lord seemed to say, ‘Don’t talk trust and live worry.’ … Jesus was inviting me to live with trust in him instead of worry.”

And that’s also the invitation of Jesus to me and to you. To slow down and walk with him, to live with trust in him instead of worry. The invitation to trust him is also an invitation to rest in him, to “learn the unforced rhythms of grace”.

This is Day 3 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).