Don't Let Impatience Destroy. . .
Dan and I have been married for over 10 years now, and in all the years we’ve never really decorated for Christmas. We had a small couple foot tree that we bought our first year in FL but it was hardly what one would call a tree, but resembled more of the Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. For various reasons that I won’t go into publicly we just never really got into the habit of decorating. But this year is different. I inherited my grandmother’s tree and many of her Christmas decorations and this year we decided we were going to decorate. Many of these items are very sentimental to me because the ornaments are like bits of my childhood. I can remember my grandmother painting several of them. We’d agreed that we were going to take the time Saturday to decorate.
I’m not a person that likes to set around waiting for things. In fact, I get a little claustrophobic. I sometimes feel like a Mexican jumping bean in a two inch by inch hole. I want to do what has to be done, and I hate waiting on people to start things.
On Friday afternoon, I decided that I would get the Christmas tree and decorations out of the attic. I justified it in my head. My husband has been very busy between work and school and I didn’t want him to have to do one more thing. Why should I wait around for his help when I could just do it myself? When I poked my head into the attic on the rickety ladder to find that the boxes were further back than I planed logic and maybe some prophetic intuition hinted at me that I should wait for him. When I managed to shimmy up on the top step of the ladder to lever the boxes closer to the entrance reasonability should have won out. But why stop I’d already gotten them closer to the opening? I shimmied the tree out, pulled down a couple of boxes with poinsettias, and then realized how heavy the last two boxes that were left. Again, this is were patience and wisdom were saying, “Just wait for Dan to get home.” Instead, I pressed onward. The next box wedged itself in the opening between my head and the ladder. Finally, inch by inch, I brought it down, and then I slipped. At the last moment the box started to rip my fingernail, I flinched and the box went crashing down to the garage floor. I could hear the ceramic shattering and truthfully, I was afraid to look.
After I got the last box down, I made myself asses the damage. I‘d broken a large nativity. The only pieces salvageable was a Mary and Jesus that I had to glue a leg back on, and the three wise men that came from another set. What I broke wasn‘t sentimental, she‘d probably gotten in a few years ago, and I‘m fortunate I didn‘t break more. However, I felt horrible. I’d known that I needed to wait for my husband to help me, and as a result, I broke several pieces. My impatience destroyed some beautiful items. I knew if my grandmother would still be alive, she’d yelled at me for being so upset over a few pieces but the fact remained that if I would have just waited everything would have been fine.
I have always joked that there is reason patience is a fruit of the spirit, because it doesn’t occur naturally and easily and you constantly have to choose it! Patience is a part of being at peace in situations.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I get just as impatient as the next person does, but you have to choose to be anxious about nothing. Choose peace. Choose patience. Choose to wait even if you have to.
Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Now that our Christmas tree is out and our decorations aglow my four year old has been running around like a kid on Christmas morning going, “Mom! Mom! Mom! Is it Christmas yet? Mom!” This makes me think, “Kid, just wait!” It’s funny it’s so much easier to see impatience in others than it is to see it in yourself.
We are in a season in the body of Christ that I believe is exciting. So much shifting, blessing, and destiny is beginning to be unfolded and as prophetic people sometimes we can become like that little kid running around the house saying, “What do you mean it’s not Christmas yet? I see the tree!!! That’s not fair! I want it NOW!”
Be at peace. God is bringing what He said to pass. It will happen. Choose to be patient and before you know it, it’ll be Christmas morning. You don’t need to break the nativity. He’ll bring it down for you. If you choose to wait God will bring it about in His time, and all will be well.
I’m not a person that likes to set around waiting for things. In fact, I get a little claustrophobic. I sometimes feel like a Mexican jumping bean in a two inch by inch hole. I want to do what has to be done, and I hate waiting on people to start things.
On Friday afternoon, I decided that I would get the Christmas tree and decorations out of the attic. I justified it in my head. My husband has been very busy between work and school and I didn’t want him to have to do one more thing. Why should I wait around for his help when I could just do it myself? When I poked my head into the attic on the rickety ladder to find that the boxes were further back than I planed logic and maybe some prophetic intuition hinted at me that I should wait for him. When I managed to shimmy up on the top step of the ladder to lever the boxes closer to the entrance reasonability should have won out. But why stop I’d already gotten them closer to the opening? I shimmied the tree out, pulled down a couple of boxes with poinsettias, and then realized how heavy the last two boxes that were left. Again, this is were patience and wisdom were saying, “Just wait for Dan to get home.” Instead, I pressed onward. The next box wedged itself in the opening between my head and the ladder. Finally, inch by inch, I brought it down, and then I slipped. At the last moment the box started to rip my fingernail, I flinched and the box went crashing down to the garage floor. I could hear the ceramic shattering and truthfully, I was afraid to look.
After I got the last box down, I made myself asses the damage. I‘d broken a large nativity. The only pieces salvageable was a Mary and Jesus that I had to glue a leg back on, and the three wise men that came from another set. What I broke wasn‘t sentimental, she‘d probably gotten in a few years ago, and I‘m fortunate I didn‘t break more. However, I felt horrible. I’d known that I needed to wait for my husband to help me, and as a result, I broke several pieces. My impatience destroyed some beautiful items. I knew if my grandmother would still be alive, she’d yelled at me for being so upset over a few pieces but the fact remained that if I would have just waited everything would have been fine.
I have always joked that there is reason patience is a fruit of the spirit, because it doesn’t occur naturally and easily and you constantly have to choose it! Patience is a part of being at peace in situations.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I get just as impatient as the next person does, but you have to choose to be anxious about nothing. Choose peace. Choose patience. Choose to wait even if you have to.
Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Now that our Christmas tree is out and our decorations aglow my four year old has been running around like a kid on Christmas morning going, “Mom! Mom! Mom! Is it Christmas yet? Mom!” This makes me think, “Kid, just wait!” It’s funny it’s so much easier to see impatience in others than it is to see it in yourself.
We are in a season in the body of Christ that I believe is exciting. So much shifting, blessing, and destiny is beginning to be unfolded and as prophetic people sometimes we can become like that little kid running around the house saying, “What do you mean it’s not Christmas yet? I see the tree!!! That’s not fair! I want it NOW!”
Be at peace. God is bringing what He said to pass. It will happen. Choose to be patient and before you know it, it’ll be Christmas morning. You don’t need to break the nativity. He’ll bring it down for you. If you choose to wait God will bring it about in His time, and all will be well.
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