Once upon a time, I felt severely stressed about something. At that moment, I really begged God to show me the answer.

His response was so simple it was almost ridiculous!

He simply told me to “slow down.”

I took His advice seriously and it was life changing.

The poem I wrote below is about slowing down. I wrote it for myself firstly so that I would never forget God’s message to me personally. Secondly, I hoped a few others would read this so it would slow them down too.

Many people do not realise that slowing down is the answer to many things.

This poem sounds like a Mrs Doctor Suess!

A song is like a singing story

A poem for God

Is Jesus glory!

The slow tree is God’s

Planted with His seed

The seeds say

Unfollow the Web

Follow God instead!

The fast tree

Is the world’s

Busy and webby

The erratic seed

Is rushed

Withered and sweaty

Slow

Calm and

Wise

Are you?

Or fast

Tumultuous and

Surprised?

Suprise indicates rush

In the slow

You are not crushed

In the fast

You won’t last

In the slow

You will flow

Stop and say no!

No, no, no!

I will not go

My feet are slow

Only here do I know

In the pause

Is wisdom

In the rush is fuss

When I stop

I look

I don’t get hit by a bus

In the stop, I rest

In the pause I nest

The stop here is kind

The stop here is free

The stop makes me pray

Jesus and me

The stop makes me say

I start a new way

How rushed are you today?

Stop and read my poem

It won’t be long

When you’re finished

You will be strong!

First pray now

God help me

Not to rush past

Helenolenjn.life

As I’m going too fast!

Good!

Now as a poet

I have your full attention

Forget the world now

Let me just mention

A minute = sixty seconds

If you only have this

Then make it slow

For then you will grow

And know, know, know!

In the slow, you grow

In an emergency

Speak slowly still Ok?

Drive carefully still

Think slowly still

React slowly still

Going fast?

I warn you

Your pressure will last!

If you are nervous

Talk loooooooong and stretchy!

Let your words last

And don’t become tetchy

Stop talking fast

Don’t fumble and stumble

And mix up your waffle

For then you will crumble

Rush

Equals

Really

Under

Some

Harassment

Since when did you see

Jesus rushing in me?

A cloud rushing by

With a big fat sigh

Is only fiction,

High in the sky

And may I mention

The real cloud is slow,

Fluffy, fat and with no friction

See how it flows?

Oh! You must listen!

When you’re in a cafe

Don’t feel the need to speak

Be like the sheep

Nibbling and meek

In pastures green

Happy and serene

Then listens to others

Who squeeze in more words

Coupled with caffeine

They never observe

To slow down is strength

To listen is joy

To hear a friend’s story

Will give God more glory!

So speak if you must

But slow down with words

Just quietly observe

Don’t follow the herd!

Know this and pray

But let me say

Slow motion

Leads to your promotion today!

Not of your flesh

But rather your dress

Your spiritual dress

Produces less stress

Your soul going slow will help you grow

The fruits of the spirit =

Love, joy, peace and self-control

Since when did these

Put you in a hole?

Since when did you stop the rush?

And unfollow the busy stuff?

Tell me I say

Dear friend, you are going the crazy way!

Your erratic fast seed

Cannot say

Jesus and me

Stop!

Pause

Come with me

To the heavenly slow tree

Uproot your webby one

For the precious holy Son

Here you will meet the Lord

And find

His eternal sword!

A holy place where God observes

Like the verse that says

God is there

The sword of the spirit

Produces light and salt

You finally slow down

Your weakness halts

You build a new tree

For all to see

Not an earthly kind

But one with Jesus in mind

God’s tasks are slow

Then His fruits are birthed

Since when did you produce

Supernatural turf?

Your slow tree produces light and salt

The slow is Christ’s action on a halt

The slow is God’s way of saying

Go from A to B

Not the broad way

Don’t you see?

If you want to go slow

Stop and say

Jesus, you are my brand-new way!

I go from A to B

Now I clearly see

My old tree was built with carnality

This messy tree stops and starts

It’s never birthed with a Jesus heart

The rush with too much fuss

Withers your soul, it’s only stuff!

This haphazard line is way off course

But the straight and narrow, is God endorsed

It’s not messy like the World Wide Web

It’s straight and singular and heaven-led!

So if you want to rest your heart

Build a slow tree, it’s time to start!

Plant the seed from God’s Word

Then you will see

His tree is free!

Your chains are gone

Your leaves are green

Your soul is renewed

Slow and pristine

Stop your rush!

Jesus comes first

He wants your heart

And not your stuff

Don’t waste your energy on the devil’s tree

Save it for God’s

And be set free!

(Written by Helen Olenjin)