The natural world is always changing, but that change is often extremely slow—hard to measure in human lifetimes. What would it be like to trust in the gradual unfolding of God’s desires within us and around us on this kind of timescale? The Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, devoted to both theology and science, wrote in his wonderful poem “Patient Trust”: “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”

Here’s a new text embracing the slow work of God, who sometimes works at the speed of growing moss or eroding rock. The last line of this text echoes a favorite quote from Willa Cather, another observer of nature: “that is happiness: to be dissolved into something complete and great; when it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep” (My Ántonia).

You can preview or purchase the text here. It’s set to the lovely tune SAMANTHRA. While I was writing, I listened to this version. You can also find this piece in my collection Elemental Joy.