Slow Me Down

Slow me down, Lord

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.

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.

Slow me down, Lord,

and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values

that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.
Amen.

Wilferd Arlan Peterson


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