Guest feature
A New Year Reflection by Kerry Tomberlin
Trust the Slow Work of God.
We enter into this new year, armed with goals and resolutions. We found our word for the year and are motivated to see something new, do something new, have something new, be something new.
A friend of mine is going to run a marathon this year, and began a couch to 5K program to begin training. The first day she ran, she had so much energy. Could do so much more. But just as she was about to push it and run a little further, a little longer, and little harder, a voice called out from the app:
Don’t reject small beginnings.
You aren’t where you were.
You aren’t where you will be.
We want change so badly that we reject small beginnings. Our hearts are desperate for transformation that we can’t bear to take it slowly. We want to see results. Quickly. Hopefully before February, otherwise those resolutions might just slip away and be added to the pile of one more thing that didn’t work.
But our God is a slow kind of God. Just last month we celebrated the advent season and Christmas. For unto us a child is born.
The God of the universe chose to come to the earth in human form. He could have chosen his earthly body to be fully formed, grown and mature, like Adam. But he didn’t. He started his journey here on earth in the womb. When Gabriel appeared to Mary he said the Holy Spirit would pass over her and she would conceive a child.
Nine months of cells dividing. Tissues forming. Organs growing. Slow, slow work. Small beginnings.
Once he passed through the birth canal there was still a long, slow process of developing. Two months before he could lift his head, five months before he could sit up. A year before he could even take a first step.
While God can do miraculous works in a quick way where healing takes place immediately, it is also true that more often than not transformation or sanctification takes time. A lot of time. What starts as a seed of conviction in our hearts might take years for enough awareness and growth to appear visible to the outside world.
Did you know that Christians had to wait three years to be baptized in the early church. It was understood that it would take time for maturity to take place, for growth to occur. It doesn’t happen in an instant. How freeing to know we have time, that God is not in a hurry.
May in this season of growth and excitement and longing for something new, you give yourself grace and trust the slow work of God.
For further reflection: Take a moment and gaze at this picture. What might the Holy Spirit want to speak to you about slow beginnings? Notice what words, images, or feelings come to mind. Is there a prayer stirring in your heart? Take some time to talk to God and listen to His response.
Ten Fun Facts
About the Author (Kerry Tomberlin)
I love to hike the Bosque (cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande) with my dog.
I am a big Disney nerd (Jessie is my dog and was named after the cowgirl in Toy Story 2
I love to experience God in creative ways.
I am currently enrolled in a spiritual direction program called Selah.
I am a Soul Care Mentor and teacher trainer at Holy Yoga, Global.
Cheese is everything.
I’m married to my high school sweetheart.
My husband and I are rabid New Mexico Lobo basketball fans.
I have really long toes.
I know I am God’s beloved.
“I love to experience God in creative ways.”
