Give me, amid the confusion of the day,
    the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions
    of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music
    of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical,
    restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations-
    of slowing down to look at a flower,
    to chat with a friend, to pat a dog,
    to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
    of the fable of the hare and the tortoise,
    that I may know
    that the race is not always to the swift-
    there is more to life than increasing speed.
Let me look upward
    into the branches of the towering oak and know
    that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send
    my roots deep in the soil of life’s enduring values
    that I may grow towards the stars
    of my greater destiny.

Richard Cushing, 1895 – 1970, American Catholic Archbishop
The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers

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Psalm 121:1-8

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

_____________________

Question

What is an area of your life where you need to slow down, 

    or at least take some minute breaks?
What steps can you take to slow down and trust God 

    to accomplish his purposes in your life?