By the Way: Slow and steady really can win the race

By Oz Lorentzen on June 21, 2025.

Most of us are familiar with waiting. We are, however, not particularly good at waiting. So I want to offer some odd sounding advice: “Hurry up and Slow down!”

We all know that good things take some time to come about, whether that is the tree we planted in our backyard, nine years ago, or homemade apple pie.

We know this, but the temptation is to become impatient, and the temptation is to think that we can have the “good” thing and skip the wait.

If we accept this suggestion, we often find ourselves accepting a compromise. Store bought pie is not quite the same as homemade but it nicely meets that after-dinner-sugar-craving. Or, perhaps, we opt for the appearances route – an artificial tree works well for a backdrop for a photo-op.

Why am I saying all this? I am really not concerned with pies or backyard trees, instead, I want you to think about your “self.”

You are a work of creation, an art piece, that is staggeringly valuable. And, just like anything else, our “self” takes time to grow and ripen. And, I would encourage you to develop the ability to creatively wait during this process.

I know that time alone does not bring about the good – it can, in fact, be destructive, as witnessed by the decay of abandoned things. But if the seed is good and the conditions are right, then time brings forth growth and harvest.

There may be some changes that need to be made in the growth conditions for your “self.” Today, however, I think the main need is to develop a patiently and hopeful waiting, to actively resist the tendency to impatience and all the anxiety and fretting that it brings.

May your soul flourish in the garden of life!

Oz Lorentzen is the pastor at St. Barnabas Anglican Church

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