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Trust In the Slow Work of God

Published: July 13, 2006
Categories: Creativity

To follow up on my last post, some wonderful and wise words from the great mystic Chardin:

Above all, trust the slow work of God.
We are, quite naturally,
impatient in everything to reach the end
without delay.
We should like to skip
the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on
the way to something unknown,
something new,
and yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stage of instability –
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually –
let them grow,
let them shape themselves,
without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today
what time (that is to say, grace and
circumstances acting
on your own good will)
will make them tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of
feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

~ Teilhard de Chardin

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4 Responses

sacredartofliving says:

July 20, 2006 at 4:55 pm

Hi Sharie, Good to see you here! Congratulations on the hard work of finishing a degree. I hope you take time to revel in that accomplishment before the next thing. Being present to the anxiety is quite the spiritual discipline. Blessings on you! Christine
Sharie Bowman says:

July 18, 2006 at 9:46 pm

This poem is so perfect for me right now. I’m finishing my master’s degree in the next month and the future (and the present) feels so disorienting. I have lots of ideas and I’m not sure which ones to put energy into and am feeling so much anxiety about where God is leading me in the next stage of life. Often I’ve made decisions to simply stop the anxiety…not because I was clear about the next step…I’m trying to do it differently this time.

Thanks for this poem of support to wait and allow myself some time to be formed in this time of uncertainty.

Sharie
sacredartofliving says:

July 16, 2006 at 10:12 pm

Hi Cheryl, So glad you stopped by and that the quote was helpful! Many blessings on all of the changes around you right now. You have been in my prayers. Christine
Cheryl Shay says:

July 16, 2006 at 2:27 pm

Christine,

Thank you so much for posting this Chardin poem. It speaks volumes to me as I sit in the midst of the transition of our move out of town. What a temptation it is to me to be impatient!!

Cheryl Shay