Love Walks, It Never Rushes
Well now, my stars, friend, look at you comin’ up the garden path! Nor come right on up here and settle yourself down on this here ol’ front porch like you’re bein’ welcomed into a summertime picnic where the breeze carries the smell of barbeque brisket and these ol’ boards creak out a mighty happy howdy-do to you. Gracious sakes, I’m plum beside myself with joy that you’ve made it over here for a lil’ ol’ visit. If you were any more welcome, that lazy ol’ cat over there is sneakin’ around like it owns the whole front porch would come up purrin’ right over here and offer you a little bit of its love by adoringly wrappin’ itself around your ankles. So, get yourself situated in real comfortable like, friend, because we’re about to be takin’ a lil’ ol’ journey straight into a truth sturdier than a fence post sunk so deep down in the ground that even an ol’ farm tractor pullin’ with all its grit would just sit there and groan.
Scripture says “Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). That verse is plum like a soft tap on the shoulder remindin’ us that love never rushes. It lingers. It listens. It slows itself down enough to notice the person right in front of it. And the Lord deepens this truth a little more by tellin’ us, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Steps. Not sprints. Not frantic leaps. Steps.
We live in an ol’ world that moves faster than a lil’ ol’ squirrel chasin’ a runaway acorn. We zip around goin’ from task to task like an ol’ rooster tryin’ to outrun its own shadow. And in all that hurryin’, we plum miss the very people God places in our path. You can’t be pourin’ into someone’s life while flyin’ past ‘em like an ol’ barn swallow in a tailwind. You can’t be encouragin’ a weary soul with a rushed hallway nod. You can’t be walkin’ with someone if you’re always ten paces ahead ‘em.
Maybe the reason you haven’t invested in anyone lately ain’t because you don’t care. Maybe it’s plum because you have not slowed down enough to see even git to seein’ ‘em. Your spouse needs your steady presence. Your kids need unhurried time. Your coworkers need more than a quick wave on your way to the next thing.
Father, teach me to walk at Your pace. Help me notice the people You place in my path. Give me patience, gentleness, and love that lingers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Alright now, friend, as this ol’ porch settles into its evening quiet and the last bit of sunlight stretches itself thin across the yard, here is the heart of it all. May the Lord steady your day with the calm confidence of a big ol’ bullfrog sittin’ on a mossy rock like it knows the whole pond is payin’ attention. Let His peace settle over you like the soft hush that drifts across a blackberry thicket when the fireflies start blinkin’ their first little lanterns. And may His joy rise in you with the bright sparkle of a young raccoon discoverin’ a fresh patch of sweet corn. Wherever your day carries you, let His goodness guide your pace like a gentle old mule movin’ toward the gate knowin’ there is rest on the other side. Go on now, friend, and live slow enough for love to catch up and stay awhile.
With joy,
Gwen
