P...P...Patience

I had a hard time getting that word out. It's not that I hate the word...I just... hate the exercise. And yet, over and over and over again, I find myself at a place all too familiar, one of needing to exercise it. A place of waiting.  Waiting on people...waiting on answers...waiting on my 2 year old to put his toys away...waiting at stoplights...waiting at the Dr's office or the DMV...currently in our house, waiting for life to return to "normal" after a major health problem. Whether waiting on big things or little things, it seems most of my life is spent in that place I really don't like to be. But, if God is in the details of my life (which I truly believe Him to be!), then obviously He MUST see this waiting time as valuable, because He has me do it so often! Truth be told, I KNOW He sees it as valuable. He allowed many others ahead of me to wait years and years for things. Noah worked and waited 100 years to finish the ark. Abraham and Sarah waited for years for their son and God's promise to be fulfilled. David was promised the Israelite kingdom but had to wait years until Saul was off the scene, much of that time on the run for his life. The Israelites waited 40 years in the wilderness, and then later, hundreds and hundreds of years for their Messiah to come. Jesus waited 33 years to finish the one thing He came to accomplish on earth. Paul waited in prison. I'm in good company, aren't I?!
All of these waiting times that could seem like, from a human perspective... a waste of time, and yet, it's obvious that God sees them as valuable or He wouldn't have ordained them.
So I turn to the only place I need to go when I have questions about all the big and little things in life. And there I find A LOT about waiting...

Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the Lord and WAIT PATIENTLY for Him..."

Isaiah 40:31 - "They that WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength..."

Romans 5:3-5 - "...but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh PATIENCE; and PATIENCE, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Hebrews 12:1 - "...let us run with PATIENCE the race that is set before us..."

James 1:3-4 - "...the trying of your faith worketh PATIENCE. But let PATIENCE have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

And so I am reminded once again that God, in His perfect way that only He can, takes something like a simple, mundane "waste of time" waiting period and makes something beautiful out of it...Perfect. Entire. Wanting {lacking} nothing... That's why God sees it as valuable. Because if the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, then anything that brings me closer to Him and makes me look a little more like Him is precious.

Hopefully, what is produced at the end of all of this waiting is a more beautiful, a more Christ-like, a more patient version of me. And that makes the waiting worth-while.

"Ponder"

It's been a long time, friends. But as the fresh slate of this brand new year lies ahead of me, I keep coming back to a word that struck me in my reading of the Christmas passage last month.

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

Ponder.

By definition: think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. That verse keeps rolling around in my mind, even weeks later. I am beginning to realize that all too often, I am way too busy doing, and not doing enough thinking. I tend to be one who just does. Don't feel too much, don't say too much, don't think too much, just DO. Go through the motions. Smile when appropriate. Talk about this and that and the other thing. Take care of the husband and child. Just do. And although that can have it's benefit in some aspects and seasons of life, I am realizing that I am missing out. I need to take the time to pause long enough to just think - to ponder - and let God teach me through my life experiences instead of just moving on to the next thing so that I appear to have it all together.

So, here I am. Ready to pick up the "pencil" and take some time to jot down my thoughts. So get ready to hear more from me.

I am pondering. :)