AVOCA — A while back I mentioned that sometimes we are our own worst enemy, finding ourselves repeating a behavior that we know isn’t helpful to our growth in the Lord.
I’d always heard the older we get, the more wise we become, and that becoming more patient naturally follows because, as we grow older, life has taught us there are very few things that get accomplished without having some - often quite a bit of it - time to pass from the start of a project to the end of it and as a result, there’s no need to get upset when things aren’t progressing as fast as we think they should.
I’m here to tell you I found that where once I was an impatient young man constantly, as we used to say “faunching at the bit,” (if you recognize that expression you aren’t as young as you think or spend a lot of time on Google) I am now an old and impatient man still “faunching at the bit.”
If it were only me that was impacted by this behavior perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but even worse, it seems the more impatient I become, the more unreasonable I become and it’s not long before I’m involving those around me in my tirades because of my impatience. Have you ever noticed how it seems to happen this way?
As an example, right after Christmas I ordered a piece of musical equipment that would complement equipment that I had received as a Christmas present. Promised a quick delivery, it seemed at the beginning all was going to proceed according to plan.
The company shipped the product the very same day I ordered it and I was really looking forward to it arriving in three days. In the words of the poet Robert Burns, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, gang aft agley.”
I used to think being able to track a package’s progress by phone or on the internet was a blessing, now I’m not so sure.
The first blow came when, for some reason, the package arrived at the shipping company’s local terminal at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning instead of the scheduled Friday morning.
I received a nice e-mail saying my package was languishing on the truck for delivery the next business day. I thought, oh well, at least I’ll have it by Monday.
I repeat, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, gang aft agley.”
I anxiously anticipated the arrival of my package all day, only to find another e-mail waiting for me when I got home saying “Delivery exception. Local weather delay, delivery not attempted.” What? Everyone else in the world is out running around on the roads and you didn’t even attempt to deliver my precious package? I was, shall we say, peeved?
To make a long storyshort, I received a nice email every day that week telling me the same thing.
I called the company and complained, I even called my nephew who works for the company and complained (something I immediately regretted doing). I complained to God. I told everyone who would listen just how unfair it was, all because I wasn’t getting what I wanted.
I finally received my package on a Saturday (my nephew brought it to me) a week and one day from when I first thought I’d get it. I had already resigned myself to it being the first of the next week before I got the package and had decided it was probably for the best - the roads out my way were really bad and I really didn’t want anyone getting hurt.
I’m not saying the snow and ice that came was just to teach me some patience, but I will say God used it to remind me I’ve not arrived yet, there is still a lot of work yet to be done in my learning to be patient, to be more like Christ.
While I lament as did Paul, “The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” I find myself crying as did Paul “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” I also have to say as he did, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” As the children’s song says “He’s still working on me to make me what I ought to be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars, the sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be, He’s still working on me.” I’m so glad. Aren’t you glad He’s still working on us?
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Charlie Newman is pastor of Avoca Christian Church.
To contact him, write in care of The Times at prtnews@ nwanews.com or P.O. Box 25 Pea Ridge, AR 72751.
Church, Pages 2 on 04/07/2010