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Life At A Snail's Pace

I share my office with two others, and I envy them.  They never lose their temper, never get in a hurry, and never worry.  They lead stress free lives. These and many other qualities they have and I lack.  But their presence does seem to help remind me that I need to reevaluate the pace of my life and to see life from another perspective.  On my desk is a microarium, a miniature aquarium by another name. It is a small glass orb which contains a cup full of water, some gravel a small aquatic plant and two rams horn snails.  Day after the day the two little snails glide around on the glass and gravel in search of food and adventure.  They exist in their little ecosystem and seem oblivious to mine.  They really don’t get bent out of shape when I can’t seem to meet the next deadline.  They never get out of sorts even when I am running a deficit on sleep. They just keep doing what God intended for mollusks to do. 

My unusual office guests (call it strange if you will) have had a positive influence in more than one way.  There are times when conversation between me and others who drop by my office is spiked with tension and even in the pressure of the moment I sometimes steal a glance at the little glass bowl on my desk and remind myself that whatever the issue of the moment those two little guys really don’t care.  It somehow makes my issue a little smaller.  They also remind me that there is a whole universe of creation beyond the little slice I see and this puts my stuff in perspective.   In the grand scheme of things, my big stuff is really small stuff, and I should not sweat the small stuff.

I also am reminded that when my life seems to be spinning out of control the snails have it under control because they are doing what God made them to do.  The painful thing is they never seem to deviate from doing what God made them to do and I often do.  It is part of our falleness, but that is no excuse.  I need to ever refocus on His will and with His help, do it.

My life is seldom at a snail’s pace but I have a ready reminder that I do need to slow down, take a deep breath, refocus and know that God is near and in control.  Maybe it is time for you to do the same.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Jesse Waggoner
Associate Pastor
© 2002 Bible Center Church

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