4.13.2006
The Slow Burn
On another website that I run, I describe myself ideologically as a 'slow-burner.' I think this is term that describes much about who I am, who I want to be, and how I view life in general. I think it is a term that could be used of most agrarians as well, and all those who wish to savor the good life.
The term slow-burn, for me, I think comes from my distant remembrance of listening to Glenn Kaiser. I know he has a record called "Slow Burn" and in my mind somewhere there is a song that made a deep impression on me. The lyrics praised the believer whose flame was steady and slow, not bright and erratic. I have writen briefly on this topic before, and I also found an entry in an old journal, written at a campsite on my honeymoon:
"There are fires that leave charred logs after they are through, and fires that leave only ash that is swept away by the wind. If we do not let the work of our souls completely consume, then there are smoldering remnants of waste and fuel."
I want my life to be a constant heat that thoroughly consumes every aspect of my life. I want to guard against sudden burst of emotionalism and superficial passion.
Slow-burning is very similar to the Slow Food movement, a rejection against the trite and hurried life, and an appreciation of beauty and good taste (literally). Slow-burners enjoy the world as God has created it, and are not impressed by efficiency. We realize that for everything there is a season, and rest is a blessing. Slow-burners pace themselves. We have ambitions and dreams, but we know that there is still a lifetime to fill. We are trees that are content to be saplings and yet still yearn to be mighty oaks. The slow-burner realizes that we are only responsible to finish our house by the appointed time, and we are called to built it from the foundation upward. We don't start in the attic, or by putting on the finishing touches. We must work our way there, slowly.
I am impatient and ambitious by nature. I want to be the finished product yesterday. But I am learning to rejoice in mistakes and mis-steps. And that is an important aspect of being a slow-burner...learning. What is God teaching me? That is what the slow-burner asks himself as he pauses and rests. Where am I heading, who is God forming me to be?
I want so much to one day be a righteous man, to someday be a wise grandfather, I want to bless people around me, but I can only be and do these things by following Christ and taking up my cross day by day.
The term slow-burn, for me, I think comes from my distant remembrance of listening to Glenn Kaiser. I know he has a record called "Slow Burn" and in my mind somewhere there is a song that made a deep impression on me. The lyrics praised the believer whose flame was steady and slow, not bright and erratic. I have writen briefly on this topic before, and I also found an entry in an old journal, written at a campsite on my honeymoon:
"There are fires that leave charred logs after they are through, and fires that leave only ash that is swept away by the wind. If we do not let the work of our souls completely consume, then there are smoldering remnants of waste and fuel."
I want my life to be a constant heat that thoroughly consumes every aspect of my life. I want to guard against sudden burst of emotionalism and superficial passion.
Slow-burning is very similar to the Slow Food movement, a rejection against the trite and hurried life, and an appreciation of beauty and good taste (literally). Slow-burners enjoy the world as God has created it, and are not impressed by efficiency. We realize that for everything there is a season, and rest is a blessing. Slow-burners pace themselves. We have ambitions and dreams, but we know that there is still a lifetime to fill. We are trees that are content to be saplings and yet still yearn to be mighty oaks. The slow-burner realizes that we are only responsible to finish our house by the appointed time, and we are called to built it from the foundation upward. We don't start in the attic, or by putting on the finishing touches. We must work our way there, slowly.
I am impatient and ambitious by nature. I want to be the finished product yesterday. But I am learning to rejoice in mistakes and mis-steps. And that is an important aspect of being a slow-burner...learning. What is God teaching me? That is what the slow-burner asks himself as he pauses and rests. Where am I heading, who is God forming me to be?
I want so much to one day be a righteous man, to someday be a wise grandfather, I want to bless people around me, but I can only be and do these things by following Christ and taking up my cross day by day.
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