I realized something powerful about fixing character flaws by looking at how God created the world.
I recently completed my yearly personal inventory, and during my annual Fifth Step with my spiritual coach, I realized I struggle with immaturity. This manifests as a constant failure to pause throughout the day. My inventory revealed several situations that could have turned out much better if I had simply paused instead of reacting impulsively.
Basically, my childish lack of self-control pointed directly to this immaturity.
The solution? Make pausing a regular habit.
It seemed like a solid plan. Every morning, I would ask for help pacing throughout the day. Every evening, I could track how many times I paused, which would allow me to track my progress and manage this issue.
One morning, while doing my usual Bible reading, I was thinking about this whole immaturity thing and how to fix it by pausing. As I read the creation story in Genesis, something jumped out at me: God pauses. At every step of creation, He paused. He separated the land and water—pause. He said, “Let there be light”—pause. He created the animals—pause. He created Adam and Eve—pause. He paused constantly.
The pattern was undeniable. God pauses—a lot.
It hit me: “Wow, if God can pause, then surely I can too!”
That realization changed my whole approach. I went into the day determined to imitate God and make pausing a priority. Who better to pattern my behaviours after than the Big Guy himself.
With each pause, I had time to listen and sometimes to pray. But the pause was the crucial element. My personal inventory was helpful, and I was on the right track, but reading about God’s pauses in Genesis was the key that unlocked everything.
Pause like God.
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