Virtue...Lacking

Patience is a virtue.  I've heard it my whole life.  And have been impatient my whole life.  Patience is most definitely a virtue that I struggle with daily.  Especially on days that involve a trip to the grocery store...when I'm in a hurry.

On a recent Thursday, in our rush to get out the door, I left my 3 year old's lunch at home.  We were too far from home when she realized her lunch wasn't in the backseat for me to do anything about it.  So I promised I would go to the grocery store before her lunch time and get lunch to her class.  Now, of course, I got out of the office very last minute to run to the store and get her lunch picked up.  With no time to spare and no time for delays, I rushed to the store.

My first encounter upon entering the parking lot was an elderly lady trying to cross from her parking space to the store entrance.  Embarrassingly, I'll admit that normally this would greatly try my patience.  But on this day, that wasn't my first reaction at all.  As I watched her struggle to cross the short distance from her parking space to the front door, I was moved to pray for her.  Specifically to pray that those she deals with on a daily basis would be compassionate towards her and show her patience.

After rushing through the store like a mad woman grabbing what I needed, I got in the shortest of the express checkout lines.  There was a college age student at the front of the line.  As soon as her transaction was completed, she seemed to panic.  Apparently the checker forgot to run a few of her coupons and she was scared that her checking account was going to be overdrawn.  As her plea to the checker to reverse the transaction held up the rest of the "express" lane, I began to pray that her situation would be resolved.  Again, not really a normal reaction.  Shortly after, a manager came over and escorted her to a place where they could take care of her problem.

The next person in line, the gentleman immediately in front of me, checked out.  At this point I've realized that my daughter's lunchtime starts in 1 minute.  And I'm still at the store...waiting to check out.  The gentleman in front of me requested some very specific cigarettes.  The checker got the wrong ones.  The man waiting for them demanded the "right" cigarettes be brought to him.  But there were none in our lane.  Or the next.  Or even the next 2.  Finally, 4 lanes away from us, the "right" cigarettes were found.  And I was able to check out.  The checker was noticeably frazzled.  I quickly (to myself) prayed that his day would improve and headed out of the store.  As I looked at my watch, I knew I was late.  And because she is my offspring, knew that my daughter would have no patience with my being late with her lunch.

I started to think about my "reactions" to my delays at the store.  And admittedly realized that those were not at all normal ways for me to react to those delays.  It was then that I felt God softly speak to me that, through the compassion I chose to have for others that day, my patience increased.  I felt God speak to me that his compassion for us is why he doesn't lose his patience with us.  If I would choose to see situations and circumstances through eyes of compassion, my patience would increase.  And my frustration would decrease.  My 20 minute trip to the grocery store ended up being a lesson that (hopefully) will stick with me for a very long time.  Compassion breeds patience.

And the bonus? When I got to my daughter's class with her lunch (10 minutes late), they were just coming in from the playground.  I wasn't "late" after all!

Prison Worship

When is it easiest for you to worship? When is it easiest to sing the praises of our mighty and faithful God? The first thought that came to your mind was in the hard times, right? Those times where you feel like everything is going wrong and falling apart? Those were the times you thought of first...right? If I'm being honest, before just recently, those wouldn't have been my first thoughts either.

Through a Bible study that I've been a part of the last few weeks, I've gained some new insight into the life, really the attitude, of Paul.  And it's really shifting my way of thinking about worshipping God.  Paul was a mighty man of God.  He was a devoted follower of Jesus.  He overcame a colorful past to be used as a one of the most quoted and inspirational writers of the Bible.  And he was persecuted...a lot.

I've always loved what Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20-21:

20 God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.21 Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

But it wasn't until just these last few weeks that I actually realized that he wrote those incredible words in PRISON!  Paul was sitting in a prison cell writing a letter to the people of Ephesus, encouraging them to be strong and not be discouraged.  And proclaiming the greatness and glory of God.

How often do we sit in the "prison" of our problem or situation and question God? How often do we sit in the midst of our trial and question why God hasn't given an answer? Or even just wondered if He's really even there?

My study of Paul, and specifically how he viewed God, taught me something.  Paul didn't just see the vastness of God's ability in the good times.  Paul saw it, maybe even more clearly, in the prison of his trials.  And instead of focusing on the seemingly overwhelming nature of the problem, focused on the absolute ability of God.

So often, as we sit in our prison of despair, we let our mind become consumed with the bigness of our problem.  We see the impossibilities of what's in front of us.  We worship the bigness of our problem over the ability of our God.

Paul had it figured out.  The time that it makes the most sense to pour out lavish worship to our God is the time when we're in our own personal "prison".  The times when we're at the end of our own ability, the times when there's no answer to be found, the times when life is at its darkest.  Those are the times when God is best positioned to make Himself known.  Those are the times that, when the answer comes, there's no choice but to see the greatness of God.  Those are the times when God can stage a comeback of epic proportions on your behalf.

Paul sat in a prison cell and told us that God can do anything.  Anything beyond even our wildest dreams.  Paul was witness to the resurrection.  He knew that nothing, NOTHING was too big for God.  So he worshipped...extravagantly...lavishly...wholeheartedly...from prison.

Out of the Ashes

We have been in a drought.  A drought of devastating proportions in South Texas this summer.  Besides loss of crops, low water levels in lakes, dried up riverbeds and dead vegetation, wildfires have been rampant this summer.  Especially in the last month or so.

There aren't many stretches of interstate that you can drive down that don't show some sign of a recent wildfire.  From black, ashy medians and shoulders, to charred trees and buildings, the affects of the fires can be seen most anywhere.

But last week, it rained.  Not just a drizzle or mist, but a good, heavy rain.  And it rained a few times over the course of several days.  The drought is nowhere near over, but signs of life are returning.

As I was making my daily commute on I-10 in the Hill Country this week, I noticed one stretch of charred land that caught my eye.  Out of the blackness of the ashes left behind from a wildfire, beautiful bright green blades of grass were rising.  Seemingly overnight, that charred stretch of land went from a grim reminder of the harshness of this drought, to a sign of life.  A glimmer of hope that life will be restored to our landscape.

Just like those bright green blades of grass growing through the ashes in the landscape, God brings us out of the ashes.  In the most devastating times of our lives, through the most devastating of circumstances, we rise.  The ashes of our personal mistakes, our family tragedies, our wanderings, our losses - the places where it seems there's just no life left at all.  God rains down and out of those ashes He brings life.  Out of those ashes comes hope, not just for us, but for those who see the life God is bringing. Out of those ashes comes faith.  Faith that, even when all appears dead, God's ability to restore life is greater.  Out of those ashes comes life, abundant life.

The devastation of the ashes is only for a season.  The rain will come.  The ground will renew.  God will restore life...out of the ashes.  "Then the saying will come true: death swallowed by triumphant life." 1 Corinthians 15:54 MSG

Room Service

My kids have never had room service.  So today they will.  They are totally fascinated by the concept of having a menu, that's not JUST pizza, to order from and not having to get out of their pj's.  They love that the food just comes to us, right where we are.

As we talked about room service this morning, I couldn't help but think of how much Room Service is like God.  Not the customizable, pick menu items God that our society has tried to create, but the "meet you where you are" God.  The one that's just a "phone call" away.

When you sit, consumed by hurt, God meets you where you are.  When your stress level is through the roof, God meets you where you are.  When you don't know how ends will meet, God meets you where you are.  When you're running from God and finally decide to stop, God meets you where you are.  When you're consumed by fear, God meets you right where you are.  When the diagnosis or prognosis are overwhelming, God meets you where you are.

I think so often we can forget that God isn't expecting us to start "fixing" it before he intervenes.  All He wants is for us to call on him, RIGHT WHERE WE ARE.  All He wants us to do is call out for help.  He doesn't expect us, or even want us, to try to do it on our own.  We don't have to move.  We just have to pick up the proverbial phone and call!

Where ever you are right now, what ever you're going through, God's desire is to meet you where you are.  Your room service is just a phone call away!