Yesterday I was on a Zoom call with three writers that I mentor in my Write That Book program. (Side note, you can find out more info here if you’d like to be mentored)

In the middle of talking about book proposals, podcast recordings, coaching other writers, and books projects one of the women, Pam, paused, “Can you believe the conversations we’re having?” she said. “A few years ago we were wondering if we’d be able to write one or two blogs per month, and now we’re sharing about our book projects!”

Grow Slow

I’ve been meeting month-by-month with these women for a few years, and most months I’d hear something like this: “Well, I didn’t get much done this month.” Yet the amazing thing is that things DID get done. More than that, over time the evidence of hard work is seen. Those little moments have added up to big goals being accomplished. It HAS has paid off.

As the year is ending, it’s a perfect time for us to pause and think back. What growth have you seen in the last few years in your home, work, family, or faith? How are you depending on God? Are we trusting Him more now than you did three years ago? That’s growth, even if it’s slow growth!

The thing is, we don’t like growing slow. But that’s how things tend to work in nature and in life. Planting and tending are acts of faith. Just as a farmer plants seeds and waits, we often don’t see growth or change right away. The harvest always takes longer than we hope. We often don’t see the growth until we look back to see how far we’ve come.

Today, my guest and I will be talking about how to grow slow in life. Jennifer says, “Sometimes we feel like a seed in the dark, and we don’t know when we’re going to burst forth.”

The fun thing about this interview is that we recorded it in the middle of July, on a day when I was enjoying sitting at the pool with my kids, yet it’s releasing in the fall, as we prepare for Thanksgiving in a few days. Yet the truths are still the same. Outside my windows right now it’s a blaze of color, but within weeks they’ll only be naked limbs stretching in the air. Yet still, God is a work. Over the next month, we’ll be spending more time at home. We’ll be enjoying family, but we also might be grieving losses, too. Not everything worked out in our year as we planned, right?

As Jennifer reminds us in this podcast, it’s ok to grieve. Winter seasons make about one quarter of our year and often one-quarter of our lives. The good news is that God has not just given us work, he also has given us rest. He works in those winter seasons.

My hope is that as you listen, you’ll be reminded about what’s most important. In fact, I love this quote Jennifer said during our conversation: We don’t have to chase our life down to get the life that we want. We have to slow our life down. It is right here. -JDL

I hope this episode will remind you that you are not just a seed planter, but that God is also planting seeds in you, and He delights in little things that grow slowly in His time. If God has patience in the slow growth, maybe we should, too.

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Scripture to ponder

For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:9

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Mentioned in This Episode

Growing Slow | Jennifer Dukes Lee
1 Corinthians 3:9

Who is Jennifer Dukes Lee

Jennifer Dukes Lee lives on the fifth-generation Lee family farm in Iowa, where she and her husband are raising crops, pigs, and two beautiful humans. She writes books, loves queso, and enjoys singing too loudly to songs with great harmony. Once upon a time, she didn’t believe in Jesus; now he’s her CEO.