Snail Mail

God sent me a message by way of "snail mail" the other day. (hee hee!)

A snail was perched on top of a big flower bulb which was poking up half-way out of the soil. I squatted down and watched him since I had extra time. (ADHD people have problems with time management and usually tend to run late) As I watched the snail I knew there must be a message God wanted me to learn from this slow-moving creature which He created.

The snail's antennas were slowly twisting about in every direction as he repeatedly turned his head to the left and to the right. He leaned forward to look at the dirt once in awhile as though searching for a careful way to get down from the bulb to reach the soil.

Somehow he managed to crawl up to the top of the big flower bulb, but for some reason he seemed to be afraid to crawl down. He continued to twist his antenna slowly through the air. He continued to turn his head to the left, to the right, down towards the soil and even up at me.

Was he looking to me for help? I blew a small puff of air towards him to see if he would retract into his shell but he didn't. He wasn't afraid of me at all. He was determined to find a way down to the soil. Maybe he was thinking "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

After searching and contemplating for a very long time (thankfully I wasn't running late yet!) the snail decided to turn sideways to slowly crawl down the flower bulb to reach the soil. What was so special about that particular path? Why couldn't he just crawl down in the direction he was already facing?

I searched my Bible for a long, long time and I just wasn't "getting it." I was getting a little frustrated in wondering "what is the message God wants me to realize via this snail messenger?!" It was taking more time than usual to search my Bible to understand what God wanted me to know but since the message was from a snail I guess searching my Bible was slow going! That in itself was a huge lesson for this impatient ADHD-me since there were a variety of passages that God led me to find and they each spoke to me in some way or another.

The manner in which I live my life is something God wants me to think about. Going through the days at hyper speed will cause me to miss important messages from Him. Slow down. Be still. Don't be so impulsive. Pay attention to what God wants me to do and how He wants me to live my life.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

Being the usual impatient me (God has his work cut out for him in dealing with an ADHD me! - wink) I have wished to hurry up and get from "Point A" to "Point C" in my faith journey. God doesn't want me to skip "Point B" though. I realize my faith journey is nothing to be hurried and the journey is not only from "Point A" to "Point C."

God wanted me to realize that yes, my faith journey is from "Point A" (the day I was born) but it also includes every letter of the alphabet in between and more! The final destination my faith journey will lead me to is not "Point Z" because through my travels of following Jesus the final destination point will be Heaven! Okay God, I finally get it!!

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ..... - Philippians 3:20

God wanted me to remember to slow down, don't be so impulsive and God wanted me to realize that I need to be more patient in searching my Bible. (not at the speed the snail messenger was taking I hope - I am too impatient for that yet!) The Bible has many lessons to offer and God wants me to make the time to read them more often. There are sure to be ADHD times where I will say "huh?" but that's why God put Pastor Ellen in my life to answer my many questions!

Take my time. Don't be impulsive. Slow down and think about living my life with safety in mind. God wants me to read my Bible more often and I will grow with the knowledge which it will give me. God wants me to remember that with Jesus as my leader my path and faith journey will be safer. God sent me this message by "snail mail" and it seemed to be at the snail's pace, but finally I "got it."

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. - 2 Peter 1:2