Growing…

We are creeping up on six months of altered activities due to COVID-19. In early journal entries I wondered if I could handle it for six more weeks and here we are still going. Humans are incredibly adaptable.

And yet. My heart hurts every day, by the trouble we have here at home with this prolonged togetherness, and by the trouble nationally in politics and in social injustice, then globally with natural disasters, COVID-19’s powerful grip and tension in foreign affairs.

I think there is something about this time that has worn down the average bear’s ability to filter, to stop and think, to approach problems the way Jesus would.

I found a guided Bible study journal early in quarantine and I’ve been working in it almost every day. For each week I have a mind map to fill in with a variety of topics, and the picture at the top is from this week’s box entitled “Patience.” A wise woman once said you should never pray for patience as the only way you grow your patience is by being tested. And yet here we are.

Love is patient: the verse worn out in weddings is from 1 Corinthians 13:4. The verses after it say so much about love and I wonder- am I living them?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

A letter, penned so long ago, from Paul to an early church. It speaks to me, stirs my soul, lures me toward being the person God has called me to be.

I have so far to go.

And that’s where the grace comes in. Paul’s encouragement to the church in Corinth continued in a second letter and again, God’s words encourage me today. 

God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And Paul continued: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

What if I approached the day’s frustrations fully aware of my limitations? Instead of trying to muscle through them on my own, calling on the power of chocolate, wine, the ear of a friend, or other earthly distractions, what if I instead called out to God, prayerfully inviting Him into my weakest moments, allowing Him to help me live and love the way He does. What if I allowed His grace to flow through me, giving me room to mess up yet forgive myself, to be more patient and grace-filled with those I hold dear, and with the strangers I see and hear that hurt and are hurting. Maybe this is my season to grow my gra-tience.