Recently, my watch battery died, so I took it to a local jewelry store to get it fixed. It didn’t take long to put in a new battery, but when the store owner returned, he looked at me and said, “Can you tell me how to use this watch?”
You see, my watch is a slow watch (click here for their website). It has one hand that points to numbers that go from 00 to 24. Each mark represents 15 minutes. So, during the course of a day, the single hand only goes around the watch face once. You can see why it’s called a “slow” watch.
The company’s website explains the concept:
“There was a deep realization within each of us that it was time to recapture the mindset of slow… since this moment, we have tried to focus on what’s really important in life and enjoy everything we do. …We therefore created slow Jo which displays the entire day (that, according to latest scientific research, has 24 hours) and makes you visualize time in a more natural way. Live for the moment rather than chase every minute or second. slow focuses on what really counts and therefore only uses one hand – the hour hand. This allows you to read the time precisely enough, just not every second.”
As a child, my dad was always telling me to “slow down,” so purchasing this watch was a way for me to try to embody my dad’s advice. (Don’t tell him he was right.) But, these days, I’ve been forced to slow down.
Last week, as many of you know, I had surgery. My vocal cords were chemically paralyzed to allow them to heal from a granuloma I’ve been suffering from since mid-September. (Almost 4 months now!) By God’s grace, I will heal, but this illness has caused me to slow down.
I’m normally a very active priest. My typical weekly schedule consisted of 3 hours of chanting services (more if there was a feast that week), 2 hours of Bible study, 2 hours of catechism classes, recording a 20-30 minute podcast, and going on visitations and attending meetings. (None of this was the cause of the granuloma, by the way.)
As you can see, my voice is critical to me and my career. So, having my voice taken from me has been a challenge.
I’ve written previously about how I’ve had to learn to repent and find gratitude in my situation, but I’ve had to learn how to slow down as well. There’s a biblical word for this: it’s called patience.
Paul speaks very highly of this virtue. He writes to the Colossians that he prays that they,
“ … be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and [that they] be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (Col 1:11-12)
The Greek word for patience is μακροθυμία, which literally means long-suffering. Paul, who was tortured (and eventually died) for his faith, knows what it means to have patience, to be long-suffering. Paul was able to disciple himself to be the saint and writer that we know him to be today because of patience.
Patience disciplines us as well. It forces us to slow down and focus on what’s important. It gives us time to think things over, repent if needed, and see things in a new light. It also gives us time to be grateful.
There are times now when I want to jump into a conversation or explain some tricky aspect of theology, but I can’t. If I do want to communicate with people, I either have to write it out or use a text-to-speech app. This takes time and patience, so I want to thank my wife and my parishioners for being willing to learn patience with me.
I’ll end by quoting a bit more of what slow had to say about their watch:
“slow is a decision. A decision to live your life how you really want and to focus on what really counts for you. Of course that includes a good portion of fun! We truly believe that if you change your mindset and look at the biggerpicture (and not just from one side of the hamster wheel to the other), you will not only be happier but more successful in your job [and in your spiritual life] as well.”
I pray that patience is something God grants to all of us for our salvation.