Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM

This last week I spent a few days in beautiful Santa Fe, NM with my family. My kids were on their Spring Break, and Tisha and I were off for the last half of it. So we got away for some serious family time.

On Saturday morning, we went downtown to visit two must sees if your in Sante Fe: the Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi and the Loretto Chapel. Both structures bear French design in the midst of an adobe Southwest. The contrast of these two structures to the normative architectural culture of Santa Fe is clear.

The Cathedral of Saint Francis took over 10 years to build. The Loretto Chapel was constructed by the same team of builders, beginning in 1873, and was completed in 1878. That’s five years of construction on the chapel, alone! Of course, the chapel has the famous spiral staircase with no structural supports, believed to be built by St. Joseph (the earthy father of Jesus), the patron saint of carpentry, in a response to prayer. I must admit, that staircase is an amazing piece of construction.

The Loretto Chapel Staircase

Seeing these two structures got me to thinking about quality. Buildings and structures go up at lightning speed these days. After all, time is money. And we will cut corners to save time, won’t we? Sure we do. But isn’t it at the expense of quality?

I’m hesitant to reflect back on the corners I’ve cut to save time and energy because I know, when I do, I will discover that the quality of product produced will be lacking.

Does a quality marriage take time, or does it come quickly? How about sculptures? Paintings? Essays? Books? All of them take time, focus, and patience to produce.

Take some time to think about where you might be cutting corners, and ask yourself the question: Is it worth it?

We are adjusting well to our new surroundings and new labors. We are working now with our second group of kids and we are loving it. We are tired from a trip to Ruidoso, NM, though. We, and a number of other cottage parents, took the kids to Mountain Family Fellowship. It was an amazing weekend.

School is still incredibly demanding. They make for late nights and early mornings.

I’m trying to finish writing a review of Sarah Cunningham’s Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds. She’s got a blog tour going. My post goes live on July 15th.

Also got invites from Chris Gallagher and Bobby Cohoon to guest post for their blogs, later this month. I’m excited about it.

I’ve been working on a post entitled, AGAPE, that I can’t seem to finish. That is frustrating. My family is waiting. Please be patient. It is coming soon. Just gotta find more time. LOL

Time is precious. Remember that. Love your wife. Hug your kids. Appreciate your family. Engage your work with passion. Don’t take your time for granted.

Sitting before me is a book entitled Catch the Dream by Clark Potts. It was published by ACU Press in 1989. It’s a series of thoughts on nature, time, living, God, Satan, judgment, obedience, hope, joy, service, kindness, forgiveness, pride, humility, patience, responsibility, prayer and love. Sounds good doesn’t it? It is.

Here is one of his thoughts on Time.

Ours is an instant world.

We eat instant foods.

He have instant entertainment.

We watch instant news.

We seek instant relief of pain.

And the telephone gives us instant contact with any point on earth. Yet, the really fundamental things cannot be speeded up or slowed down. For example:

…days, months, years (time)

…conception and birth

…deep, long-lasting friendships

…patience, learning, maturity, etc.

But there are those who spend frustrating days and nights trying to spread the “instant” blanket over impossible areas. Those who doubt, ask themselves: “Can we have instant pleasure…or must it be earned and savored like joy and happiness?”

Isn’t this a strange question in a culture that is so bent on pleasure that the minute we feel a pin or are slightly unhappy we pop a pill or drink some joy juice? Can we really have instant relief? Had God put us here on earth to be instant in anything? Is His Creation so drab, gloomy, sad, uninviting, and “yukky” that we seek instant escape?

Maybe we need an instant refresher course in what His dream is for us.

This is so true! We want “instant” results, but some results are derived in an instant. We’ve got to slow down, breath deeply, and be still. The refining process takes time. Trying to expedite processes that take time, only diminishes the good that comes by them.