Tag Archives: patience

Third Time

29 Friday Jun 2012

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“So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.” ~ Genesis 13:1-4

This is the third time I’ve started writing tonight’s post.

The first time was a good idea, but the writing was going nowhere.  The second go was a mediocre idea with no point.

This time, I’m not sure I even have a point.  So I’ll just tell you what’s been on my mind lately.

The main thing I’ve been thinking about this week is how hard it is to wait on God.  It’s really hard.  There are things that I have been praying about for years now, and I trust that God is going to do something about it, but He just seems to reeeaaalllyyy be taking His time.

In those moments, I am so tempted to run out and do something to speed up the process.  I just know that I could be getting things DONE in the midst of all this waiting.

And it’s true.  I could do things.  Things that might be measured as successful by worldly standards.

However, by God’s standards, all these things would be looked at as a waste of time.  It might even delay what God has for me, because it would force us all to go back to the beginning and start over.

Our pastor preached a sermon on Sunday about Abram’s trip into Egypt with Sarai.  His wife, who was so beautiful he worried that people would kill him to get to her, so he made up the lie about her being his sister.  This foray into Egypt appears to have been very profitable for Abram, because he left with great wealth given to him from Pharaoh.  However, the fallout of his disobedience has had ramifications that we still feel today, because one of those servants he left Egypt with was named Hagar.

And if you look at the last verse of that passage, you see that Abram is right back at the beginning, starting over with God, returning to the place he was before, a little more damaged and heartsick than he had been.

To me, this is an excellent lesson on why waiting for God is so, so important.  It might feel useless, pointless, and frustrating, but I know He is working, even if my limited vision can’t see it.  But to wait for Him is to guard against the certain failure, no matter how tempting it looks, that striking out on my own would bring.

Teeth & Patience

02 Friday Mar 2012

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“But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” ~ I Timothy 1:16

I’m learning the two do not go hand-in-hand.

My little boy has apparently decided to set a record for getting all of his teeth in.  Having barely hit the seventeen-month mark, he has launched himself (hysterically, it could be said) into producing his second set of molars.  You know, the ones that aren’t supposed to show up until he turns two or so.  And I say a big, “Ha ha,” to all the websites that suggest using teething gel at this point.  They are clearly written by people who have never hazarded to put their fingers into the mouth of a toddler who possesses an almost full set of teeth.

Going through something that is hard usually does one of two things to a person: it breaks them or makes them stronger.  But if they grow from the difficult event, it certainly wasn’t on their own.  In order to grow from tough circumstances, you have to be willing to allow God to work in your life.  And sometimes making that choice can be the most challenging part of all.

My little boy will finish drooling and crying eventually, and emerge from this experience with a full set of teeth.  He doesn’t really have a choice in that matter.  But I have choices in how I handle his meltdowns and crankiness.  I can’t either get impatient with him, knowing full well he has no control over the situation, or I can do what I’m trying to do – make sure that he has lots of stuff to chew on and try to make him as comfortable as possible.   I want to make sure that I show him lots of mercy while he grows, because I know God shows lots of mercy to me when I’m growing, too.

Temper, Temper

12 Monday Dec 2011

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The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him.  He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them. ~ Numbers 20:7-13

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ~ James 3:1

Leadership has a price.

And, as Moses learned, it can be steep.

But first of all, I’d like to say that I totally get why he hit that rock.

I’m sure if I had been in his shoes, I probably would have given the rock a few more whacks and kicked it for good measure.  Moses had been leading a group of people around for what probably felt like forever, and you can tell from these verses that just getting them all gathered in a group was hard – he calls them “rebels.”  The fatigue of feeling somewhat isolated in always needing to be the one to do the right thing hit the boiling point, and Moses found himself taking his best crack at the rock, instead of speaking to it.

There are days when I look at what God has called me to do, and I just want to have a temper tantrum and quit.  Throw my toys against the wall and demand that He fix it all for me – right now!  And I’m not even responsible for leading a large group of people anywhere, let alone to the Promised Land.  But then I look into the trusting eyes of the one little person that I’m in charge of, and I remember why it is that I can’t quit.  And think about just what kind of example I would be setting for him if I did.

To me, it always seemed a bit overkill that Moses broke down and rebelled this one time, and it cost him so much.  But when I remember the verse from James – that teachers will be held to a stricter judgment – I start to better understand God’s reasoning.  When water spurted out of the rock after Moses hit it, it could be misconstrued that his human effort was what resulted in the water pouring forth.  By using only the power of the Word of God, as God had asked Moses to, the people of Israel would have better learned how powerful God is.  But the lesson was lost when Moses lost it, and to make the situation worse, Moses misdirected his anger with his whiny followers and took it out on God instead.

It can be a hard thing, to remember that God holds us to a higher standard.  But He does it for a reason – we are His living, breathing witnesses on earth.  We are called to show Christ to an unbelieving world.  So when you feel like you’ve reached the end of your rope and have no patience left, ask God to grant you an extra measure to get you through.  He’ll do everything He can to help you succeed and since He has limitless resources at His disposal, that’s saying a lot.

Toe-Tapping Lessons

12 Saturday Nov 2011

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“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” ~ Psalm 27:14

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I am a person that struggles with patience.

This week has been no exception.  I am not-so-patiently waiting for something and find myself doing a lot of mental foot-tapping in the process.

In situations like these, I often find myself telling God that I’m tired of relearning the same lesson.  I wonder, then, how often He in turn looks at me with a raised eyebrow and replies, “Perhaps you haven’t learned it as well as you think you have?”

So I will be strong and take heart.  God always has my best interest in mind, even when I can’t tell.  So I will put my faith in Him, since He knows what is best for me not just for now, but for all of eternity.

A Sticky End to Dignity

04 Friday Nov 2011

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“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8

I threw my dignity under a bus today, using a sticky note.  I’ll spare you all the details of the overly long, unnecessarily complicated explanation of how this came to be, but suffice it to say, it needed to be done.  However, what I will tell you is that what I wrote on the sticky note needed to be said, was probably too long in coming, and put a big dent in my pride in order to do it.

It made me think a little bit about the high value we put on personal pride and dignity.  We refuse to do just about anything that will take a toll on either one.  But the Bible is pretty clear about pride – it isn’t a good thing.  Today’s verse is especially applicable to my current situation, as my pride has been preventing any resolution to the matter to occur.  If I hadn’t been so stubborn, things could have (and should have) been taken care of a long time ago.

Be careful that you don’t inflate the value of your own pride.  As the Bible teaches, pride is what has to go before a fall.  And in the end, patience and persistence in seeing something through are much more worthy virtues.

Whining & Dining

17 Friday Jun 2011

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“My times are in Your hands” ~ Psalm 31:15a

Today, for whatever reason, my little boy’s internal clock has sped itself up a bit.  He was up early, wanted breakfast earlier than usual, and wanted lunch really early – as in, an hour before he typically eats.  So to prevent his dinner from being in the middle of the afternoon, we tried playing with some of his toys for a bit, but he would have none of it.

So into the kitchen we went, him in his highchair and me preparing his food.  Which I was apparently not preparing nearly fast enough for his taste.  Little hands beat on the plastic tray, accompanied by the insistent sound of his most irritated whine.  And even though I wanted to get his food to him faster, there’s really only so much you can do.  In fact, whether or not he’s whining and I’m hurrying, the food takes about the same amount of time to prepare every day.

However, after I was finished feeding him and he was happily playing with his Cheerios, I realized that sometimes this must be how I approach God about things.  Instead of praying about something and then giving it over to Him, I hang on to it and whine and whine and whine about it.  The thing about whining and getting frustrated is that it really does nothing to speed up the process.  In fact, it often makes the whole process feel a lot longer, since all of my energy is given over to complaining about it.

Maybe what I should do instead is remember that God loves me and has perfect timing.  My grumbling and cajoling aren’t really going to bring about results that are better than what the Creator already has planned.  That isn’t to say that I shouldn’t pray repeatedly about things, because the New Testament encourages that, but it does tell me that if I’m praying about it I don’t need to invest the rest of my time in fretting over whether or not God heard me.

So put your spoon down and stop beating on the table in front of you.  God has everything under control.

Spoonfuls

29 Sunday May 2011

Posted by in new testament

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“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” ~ II Corinthians 4:16

I’ve mentioned before that my little guy loves to eat.  Well, he’s really upped the ante this week – gobbling down as much as a quarter cup of rice cereal and a container of veggies in one sitting.  Now, I used to think that baby portions were so small – just perfectly sized for a baby.  So feeding said baby wouldn’t take long.  That is, of course, until being handed a baby-sized spoon.

And suddenly it’s like being led to a swimming pool and someone says, “Drain this,” and hands you….a ladle.

But, for the sake of the adorable toothless grin, the waving arms and legs, and the hoots of impatience to be fed, every meal time I dive in and teeny spoonful by tiny spoonful finish up all that baby food.  And really, it doesn’t take as long as it seems like it would and can actually be a fun process, too.

There are things in life that can appear like finishing a bowl of baby food with a miniature spoon – things that look like that will take forever and be dull in the process.  The problem so often with being a grown up is that we find ways to avoid these things.  We don’t want to build up the patience to endure to the finish line when it comes to boring tasks.  But just like feeding a baby, sometimes these mundane tasks are actually really important, and would fortify us if we would just stick with it.

So the next time you are faced with a seemingly impossible-to-finish task, don’t lose heart.  To paraphrase the saying,  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” always remember: A well-fed baby begins with the first spoonful.

How Quickly We Forget

25 Wednesday May 2011

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“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:16

Being a little boy, my baby is a huge fan of eating.  He loves to eat.  He isn’t the most adventurous eater, but will eagerly gobble up the foods he enjoys.  Since I started him on rice cereal, it has become a consistent favorite, beating out most vegetables and certainly all fruits (I do think he loves sweet potatoes the most, though).

In the morning he is content to sit and wait as I fix it.  But in the evening, watch out!  Rice cereal doesn’t take long to fix, but I have learned that if I don’t get it together quick enough there is going to be some yelling from a high chair across the room.

To me, this is really funny.  His impatience to be fed gets the best of him almost every single time.  Now, I may be the kind of person who occasionally pours orange juice on her breakfast cereal, but I do have a perfect track record when it comes to feeding my little one.  He has never done without.  Nor have I ever been tempted to fix his rice cereal and eat it myself (sometimes I wonder if that is the concern his emphatic talking and arm waving express).  Yet every time things are not up to speed in his world, he grows impatient and starts kicking and waving and yelling.

I sometimes wonder if this is how God sees me.  He has proven, time and again, that He is going to take care of me and that He has a plan for me.  Yet I still find myself in fits of temper when things aren’t going along as quickly as I want them to, stubbornly declaring that I should just take care of things myself.

During times when I find myself behaving like my little boy, I should instead look to verses like this one from Hebrews.  God wants to help me in my time of need – He promises mercy and grace.  Rather than get impatient or insist that things happen on my time, I should instead trust that the God of the universe really does have things under control.

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