Seasons of Slow

Ah, this season of slow that I am experiencing right now. I don't know why, but I guess I thought that if I ever had more than a day or so off, I would wake up each morning filled with unbearable excitement because I was not at work. Instead, it is a quiet, contented sort of feeling. I still occasionally panic with the thought of what I should be doing, only to slow down again with the realization that I should not be doing ANYTHING, except building relationship with those I love.

This morning I spent 3 hours with a friend, lifting weights, doing the elliptical, crunching on the Ab Lounger. Yesterday, in the same room, (which the Lord has blessed my husband with time to create in HIS season of slow) four of us engaged in conversation revolving around the devotional reading from DaybyDay. Almost every afternoon, a friend calls me on her way home from work and we talk about everything under the sun. There is a house where I know if I pop in around lunch time, I will find another friend nursing her little one on her lunch hour, a ranch where I enter without knocking to be embraced by those inside. Three mornings a week, I rise before light to hike with mothers and daughters. I love the freedom to give time to those I love.

I know that this season will come to an end soon, but rather than spending a whole lot of time dreading that, I just find myself being so grateful for the time that God has blessed me with.
How does this picture relate to all of this. These two are friends and even now, they are giving time to each other and to 3 others that they love. They are learning the value of slowing down to really come to KNOW each other. I praise God for this ability to love and grow relationship with which He has gifted us human beans. Our lives are intertwined and strengthened as we seek each other out. Young shoots, strong roots, and the fruit that results from it all...