Snail's pace

Our logo is a snail. Well, a snail's shell anyway. There's lots this can mean - like the spiral of complexity, the soft self within - but I want to stick with the whole snail for a moment. Snails move slowly, yet we often move fast in our day-to-day lives. Places to go, things to do, people to meet. But maybe we have something to learn from the snail... or the tortoise or the Eeyore. Maybe slow is good?

At our church we are currently doing a series on the Holy Spirit and this week we looked at how the Spirit creates true community. He does this in large part by making us slow down - by making us appreciate others, learn from others, share with others. Instead, humans have a tendency to have lots of superficial relationships - fast, timetabled and not the authentic community we all desire inside.

God can move at 3 million miles an hour. But more often he moves at 3 miles an hour - for that is the speed of LOVE. Love is the speed at which we WALK:

• the speed at which we can notice a slow work God is doing in another person before writing them off
• the speed at which we can direct some attention inwards to see how we need to change
• the speed at which hands can be held and stories shared while still in motion

The one thing he probably doesn't do is move at 150 miles an hour - the speed at which most of us lead our lives. Bring on the snail!