Accepting God's Pace - "One Millimeter per Month"

In reference once again to Dr. Curt Thompson and his study of the human brain and our walk with God, I am quoting a portion from a recent article of his which can be found at  http://www.beingknown.com/2011/11/one-millimeter-per-month/:

"When I was in medical school, we learned that if a nerve is severed, it can begin to regenerate, but only at the rate of about 1 millimeter per month, depending on how serious and extensive the injury is. Some injuries can repair more quickly, up to 1 millimeter per day...Imagine how long it will take for a damaged nerve in a hand to return to health. Or worse, what about someone who has a stroke and has thousands of nerves killed or traumatized in a matter of minutes? Even more complicated, what about the neurological implications of relationships that have been traumatized in innumerable ways that seem beyond repair? What has any of this to do with God’s pace?

"What the story of the brain and nervous system seems to reveal is that God is very serious about the change he is bringing about in this world. And his seriousness translates not only into large, sweeping sea changes (think, the work of William Wilberforce or Martin Luther King, Jr.), but perhaps more often in the most microscopic, detailed spaces such as a single moment of restraint when disciplining a child; confessing a wrong done rather than sweeping it under the rug; or beginning a practice of regular, rhythmic fasting, solitude, or journaling in order to open up channels for God’s spirit to have access to you. None of these latter things listed would seem in and of themselves to change the world. No journalist will cover these events for the Washington Post. But if neurons only grow at the pace mentioned above, it will take lots of practice, and lots of time to coax them to create new networks. If God has made me with neurons, then I can’t change any faster than they can. It will take time and practice for my hoarding and gluttony and consumerism and lust and anxiety and impatience to be transformed. It is less a surprise to find that patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness are growing, if surely, then only slowly.

"Now, if I begin to pay attention to this reality, this awareness of God’s comfort with his own pace, perhaps I need not worry so much that I’m not changing quickly enough—more importantly, that others are not changing quickly enough either. And the odd thing is, when I am less worried, I am more likely to be open to the changes I so long for in the first place, especially if I am closely connected with others whose pilgrimages are moving in the same direction."