An Old Southern Pastor's Prayer
"Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with
Vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amidst the confusion of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tension
of my nerves and muscles
With the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical
Restorative power of sleep.
Teach me the art
of taking minute vacations...
Or slowing down to look at a flower,
To chat with a friend,
To pet a dog, to read a few lines
From a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable
Of the hare and the tortoise,
That I may know that 
The race is not always to the
Swift; that there is more to life
Than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward into
The branches of the towering trees,
And know that they grow tall because
They grow slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me
To send my roots deep into the soil
Of life's enduring values,
That I may grow upward toward
The stars of my greater destiny.
Amen."
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