Life's Little Frustrations

This time of year one thing is hard--

We have double duty in the yard.

The grass from summer is still growing,

So we're raking leaves AND still mowing.

Christlikeness

      I was reading through the Bible again in my One Year Bible when I came across a passage of Scripture with a date and three stars drawn beside it.  This was a notation to me that these verses had been of great importance at some time in my life.  I don't remember the incident that coincides with the date beside the verses, but there have been many occasions when I have needed to apply this passage of Scripture.  As I read the verses in Ephesians 4:2-3 again, I realized that they describe what, for me, is the essence of a Christlike spirit.

  These verses say,  "Be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love.  Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace."

      God has created each one of us with a special set of strengths and weaknesses.  It is human nature to want to point out the sins and shortcomings of others with glee and crow over them, bringing them up often and repeating them loudly for others to hear.  But that's just the opposite of Christlikeness.  The Bible tells us that the qualities that please God are kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love. 

Proverbs 10:12,  "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."  Proverbs 17:9,  "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."  I Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."  Ephesians 4:32,  "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  I Thessalonians 5:15a,  "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

      Our gifts and aptitudes balance the weaknesses of others, and their gifts and aptitudes fill in where we are weak.  This is one reason that people with opposite personalities attract each other so often.  God made us that way on purpose so we would need to depend upon each other and would be most effective as we work together.  As my pastor Mat says,  "Everybody has a seat on the bus."

Father, may I remember that You have made each person for a special purpose in Your plans.  Each individual is valuable, and each one has an important and unique place.  May I always treat others with kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love, as You have treated me. 

Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

I'm in a hurry and am anxious to scoot,

But I'm driving behind some slow poke old coot.

I can't get around him; I'm stuck for awhile.

I'll just fuss and fume and complain mile by mile.

Patience

Romans 5:3b-4,  "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character and character, hope."

Psalm 37:7a,  "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."

      Often we frustrate ourselves.  In a society where mail delivered by the postal service is called "snail mail," patience is in very short supply.  And yet it is obvious from Scripture that God prizes patience, perseverance, endurance.  There are at least two good reasons why patience is a difficult characteristic to develop.  First, we don't want to be patient.  We want what we want when we want it.  We want our own way on our own timetable.  Second, the way we develop patience is by practicing it in adversities, and nobody wants to go through hard times.   We greatly value our comfort and convenience, but God values character, and character comes through through patiently enduring difficult circumstances.

      It takes patient endurance for us to accomplish many of our goals.

  There is an old proverb that says you must wait for an egg to hatch if you want the chicken.  You will get nothing if you crack the egg too soon.  The farmer must wait for the seeds to sprout, to grow into plants,and to produce the crop before he can harvest.  If he digs up the seeds before they have time to grow, mature, and produce, there will be nothing to reap.  Think of Moses tending sheep for his father-in-law for forty years before he led the Israelites out of Egypt.  David was pursued by Saul for years before he became king.  And Joseph was sold into slavery and unjustly imprisoned for some years before he rose into prominence in Egypt.  The years of adversity were not wasted.  God was preparing each of these men for the special assignments He had for them.

      Most of us want to pray,  "Lord, please give me patience, and send it right now!"  Hymn writer Phillips Brooks said,  "The hardest task in my life is to sit down and wait for the Lord to catch up with me."  Often we have to wait for God to catch up with our plans and desires, and we can either wait impatiently or patiently.  Think about it this way: our impatience reveals our dissatisfaction with God and with the way He is directing our lives.  Our patience reveals our trust in God and in his plans for us.

Father, may I wait patiently for You to develop character in me and carry out the plans you have for my life.  Amen. 

Life's Little Frustrations

There's one thing in the fall that has me hopping.

This is when I start my Christmas shopping.

It might seem to be too early in the year,

But, before we know it, the time will be here.

You may find this hard to believe,

But my husband used to ask me on CHRISTMAS EVE

This amazing question--"Well, my dear,

Do we have any gifts for the children this year?"