Dads often say, I'll give you something to cry about. My new Dad seems to be saying, I'll give you something to be patient about. Any trait classed as fruit of the Spirit, as patience, has to be something ultra-significant and ultra-important.
Patience is joined at the hip to time. Impatience rushes time while the opposite is a partner of it.
I'm very blessed to get to be on staff at one church for over half of my life. I'm 61 and have been here well over 31 years. I enjoy the fruit of time and patience connected. Being one place thirty years is different than being six places five years each or ten churches three years each. Year seven finds a new zone of discipline year five didn't offer. Year 18 notes something challenging which year 13 didn't bring about.
In year 31 I am noting (no, marvelling) God working in places and people that four years ago I would have aborted of any hope. I'm seeing people mature. I'm seeing me grow up. I've spent 26 years in working with the Cardinals and at the moment I am on the edge of the cliff where I finally may be able to jump with delight over the ultimate dream coming from this ministry....seeing thousands and thousands taught about the grace of God through a new book.
Patience is God's beauty in our walk. From experience over three decades at one place I believe I now can see we may have aborted many of God's best moves because we failed to surrender to Him our time measured in years and decades instead of days and weeks.
We must yield to the Holy Spirit fruit of patience. Great things are on the other side of another day if we will but do as the early ones did at His command.....go to Jerusalem and wait...Acts 1:4.
1 comment:
It has been a great blessing for me to grow up with you and now get to know you personally as an adult. You've always inspired me and if you had not been in Tulsa very long, I would not have gotten to know you. Now, we have an eternal relationship. Love ya, Lynn W.
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