Post 108--"Slowing Up," A Poem by Joe Veltman

The following is a poem written by Joe Veltman, a retired Christian Reformed pastor living in Madison Wisc.  If you’re a senior like him,  you will totally understand this piece. From the tone of the poem, I judge he’s a few years ahead of me, though I, too, have achieved senior status at 78.  If you haven’t yet reached Joe’s stage, well, I pray you will so that you’re looking at your own, perhaps distant but sure, tomorrow. You may thank Joe for helping you understand what’s awaiting you. Note that Joe does not portray a despondent spirit. He just rests in God in a peaceful, relaxed way.  

As the years quicken, I find

I am rushing from slow to slower…

slow of foot, slow of mind,

slow of hand, slow of art.

I’m no longer up to speed.

The fable of the tortoise and the hare

doesn’t really compensate

for the fact that the opposite

of quick

is dead.

Still,

there is restfulness in the notion

of slow food and slow motion,

or not being on the go at all.

Maybe God invented turtles

to remind us

that He is often slow…

slow to anger,

and, to my surprise

…and dismay…

slow to speak.

He needs, I surmise

to keep that pace

to stay with His flock.

But for all that,

God, the first responder,

made the rabbit too.

Quick to listen

and swift to keep His promises,

He holds fast to His word.

Lord, be my pacemaker

that I, neither

hasty, nor slow of heart,

may be quick

to follow.

Enjoy and ponder.