Category Archives: Patience

Beautiful Things

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Abby| 18 Comments

By Abby King

…but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:19

Sometimes I feel it so strongly, the worries of this life crowding in. It’s not just my own concerns, but those of the people around me and the world in general. The disappointments, anxieties and injustices of life can weigh in heavy, choking the hope right out of a soul.

You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us

A flicker of hope appears around the edges of my mind, starts to seep into my soul.

You make me new, you are making me new

Maybe it’s ok if all is dust and ashes right now, because we know the One who makes beauty from ashes, and creates new life out of chaos. Maybe if I’m still for long enough, I will begin to hear His song again. Maybe the silence will begin to heal and retune my heart so I can join in with it, and sing it out to the world, to myself.

You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us

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Posted in Abby King, Hope, Journey, Patience, Power to change, Trusting God

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Parents Wanted!

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Abby| 4 Comments

By Carole Rawley

I came across this a few months ago and it made me smile!! So I thought I’d share it with you too!!

»

Job Advertisement

for a Parent

WANTED

 

A RESPONSIBLE PERSON, male or female, to undertake a life long project. Candidates should be totally committed, willing to work up to 24 hours daily, including weekends during the initial 16 year period.

Occasional holidays possible, but may be cancelled at no notice.

Knowledge of health care, nutrition, psychology, child development, household management and the education system essential.

Necessary skills required:-

Stress management and conflict resolution

Negotiation and problem solving

Communication and listening

Budgeting and time management

Decision making

Ability to set boundaries and priorities as well as providing loving support.

Necessary qualities:-

Energy, tolerance, patience, good self-esteem, self confidence and a sense of humour. No training nor experience needed.

No salary but very rewarding work for the right person.

»

All I can say is that if I’d applied before I had children, I wouldn’t have got the job. God is so good to us in that he knows we’re works in progress and that it’s perfectly fine to learn on the job!! 

 

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Posted in Carole Rawley, Focus Fridays, Motherhood, Patience

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The Slow Seed

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Abby| 6 Comments

By Sarah Lehman

You know what can be hard? Trusting God for vision in your life. You know what is harder? Walking in His vision for you even when it takes you on a long road that goes through many seasons before you see any fruit. I hardly have the patience or the ability to cultivate a plant let alone walk out a promise that will echo through eternity. Instead of growing plants from seeds (because that takes way to much work) I go and buy them almost fully grown…then I plant them.

I was reminded of the reward of patience while I was visiting my parents this month and I noticed some gorgeous hollyhocks behind their house. These are not the type of plants you can buy almost grown and then plant; they stand really tall (average height is between 5 and 8 feet) like delicate poles with their pink and red flowers swaying in the breeze. I asked my Mom about them because I didn’t remember seeing them at the house before. You know why I never saw them at the house? She planted them five years ago and this is the year they came up. Five years. Let me say it again, five years for a plant! I would have ripped those suckers out 4 ½ years ago and planted some instantly gratifying dandelions. But hollyhocks need time. In fact, part of the reason they take a long time to grow is because they have a complex root system underneath the ground that allows them to stand so tall and majestic with pretty flowers adorning them.

As I thought about the hollyhocks I felt encouraged. The most beautiful things, the seeds with the biggest potential will probably take time. And it’s not my idea of time (you know, give it six months, if it doesn’t happen then start over with something else). It is God’s sense of time, with an eye toward eternity. We see many examples of this in the Bible: Abraham, Joseph, and the faithful men and women in Hebrews 11 just to name a few. These men and women knew that if God had planted a seed and had given them a promise that “the one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” – 1 Thessalonians 5:24. Some of them saw the promise fulfilled in their lifetime, others did not, but we see the fruit now. Don’t become discouraged and distrustful of God. He is moving; he is working on establishing roots so that the promise and bloom of the seed can be maintained. If he has promised hollyhocks there will be hollyhocks whether it be today, tomorrow, or in five years. Walk confidently and endure, leaning on Christ to work out all good things and you will be smelling flowers for an eternity.

 

Image  credit: http://www.plantwire.com/photos/468769478

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Do I Hafta Love Everyone?

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Abby| 3 Comments

By Mary Bea Miller

Well, of course not!

I mean, well, who could love EVERYBODY?

There are not enough minutes in the day!

I can’t even keep up really well with the friends I have already!

How could we be expected to love everybody when we don’t even KNOW everybody?

What about the evil people?  Certainly I can’t be expected to love THEM?!

What about that woman at church who gossips and undermines my authority at every meeting?

What about the bullies at school who are cruel to my daughter?

The crazy drivers on the motorways?

The rude cashiers at the shops?

The pastor who stole all the money from that church?

The short answer is, of course, yes.

All of them.  All the time.  And again.  And again.

We get hung up with the “love” word, even though we’ve heard it a hundred times that AGAPE love is NOT A FEELING!  God has not asked (or commanded us) to feel affectionately toward everyone.  That WOULD be impossible.  But what He does require of us is to treat EVERYONE WE COME INTO CONTACT WITH, with kindness and compassion, thinking more highly of them and their interests than ourselves and our own.

But what about “Love your neighbor as yourself?”

I know many people teach that this means we must learn to love ourselves BEFORE we can love anyone else.  I’m sorry.  I’m not buying it. Nowhere else in Scripture am I exhorted to make myself happy, meet my own needs, consider my own feelings, or serve my own purposes. Instead, what I see over and over is to lose myself in God, die to myself, think more of others, and lay down my rights.

I can make a big deal with the argument about ‘loving my enemies’ but truth be told, that’s not my biggest problem. Where I have trouble is not fussing at my husband for leaving his socks on the floor, or yelling at the children for spilling their drinks, or being angry at the children’s workers who forgot to show up for their turn to teach.

I know that issues need to get dealt with, but I wish I could say that I always dealt with them out of LOVE for the other person and not because I was inconvenienced, aggravated, embarrassed or put out.

Jesus says that the one who proves himself a ‘neighbor’ is the one who acts with kindness and compassion.  Interesting that He used a heathen to make this point in the parable of The Good Samaritan.  I tend to think that it takes more Spirituality to do this, but this man had none.  He was only kind.

Obeying God in this area must simply be a matter of making a choice.  Do I choose to put myself first or everyone else?  This is not about friendship or feelings, but all about being the kindest and most compassionate person I can imagine, in every instance, every time I get the chance.

This is the unconditional LOVE of God.

People are not used to being treated this way.  It will be noticed. God will be exalted. This is how I can express Christ to a lost and dying world.  I have a promise. He says that His LOVE NEVER FAILS! I’m going to take Him at His word.

Each month, our Friday posts center around a particular issue. This month we are focusing on Building Kingdom Friendships.

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Posted in Building Kingdom Friendships, Focus Fridays, Love, Mary Bea Miller, Mercy, Patience, Promises

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No Fair!!!

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Abby| 8 Comments

By Mary Bea Miller

I’ve been reading some rather older books lately.  Stepping Heavenward, by E. Prentiss, (1869) and The Autobiography of Madame Guyon, (early 1700′s) as well as some literature about the origins of the Bible College of Wales, (from the 1930′s till now) where I am privileged to be living at the moment.  I have noticed some HUGE differences in the beliefs of the Christians of these past eras to the gospel that the Evangelical churches of today are preaching.

I think it goes back to the Garden.  (Doesn’t everything?)  It all has something to do with that Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Sure, we ate the fruit, but that doesn’t mean that we really understand what’s going on here.  Actually, I think the reason Father didn’t want Adam & Eve to eat the fruit had to do with the fact that the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not something that a human-mortal-peanut-brain can fully grasp.  Over and over I am confronted with the realization that God and I have very different ideas of what is “good and evil.”  Or maybe I should say “good and bad.”

When one of us is sick or inconvenienced or disappointed or offended or hurt or even robbed or attacked or murdered, we know to put all that into the “bad” category.

When we get what we want, when we are praised, admired, honored, included, offered a better job, a nicer house, a cooler car, that stuff all goes under the “good” heading.  Pretty easy, right?  But if we want to stay in this little bubble, we must stop reading our Bibles!  Especially verses like 1 Peter 2:19:

For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God (NIV).

For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment (NLT).

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly (ESV).

For this finds favor… (NASB)

For it is a fine thing… (ISV)

For it is a sign of grace… (BiBE)

That doesn’t sound like the “BAD” list to me!!

Or what about Romans 5:3?

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

We rejoice…

We boast…

We glory…

We have joy…

And what about the “perseverance” and “patience?”  Those are treated like “BAD” words today!  I’ve been advised to “Be careful what you pray for!”  Why?! Is God looking, watching, waiting for me to slip up so He can slam me with something bad?  I WILL NOT BE CAREFUL WHAT I PRAY FOR!  NEVER EVER EVER!  Except to be careful to honor and revere Him in the process.

And then there’s 1 Peter 4:12:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.

But we DO! We ARE surprised!  We DO think it’s strange!  We think that if we do right, well, mostly, then God is obligated to keep us happy!  Not sure where we got this idea, but I think that somehow it all goes back to that dang tree!

Maybe the best we can do is to try not to trust our natural way of seeing things, while at the same time trying to place our trust in the knowledge that God is Sovereign and He loves us with an everlasting love. No matter what happens or what it feels like.  This seems to be the key for us, just as it was for Jesus.  In Hebrews 1:8 & 9, the author quoting from Psalms, writes, “Of the Son He says, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.” 

So that seems to say that the key to being happy, simply stated, is a proper understanding of what is what – or which is which!

No wonder we so often feel ripped off, disappointed, unloved, uncared for, forgotten, betrayed….

It is because we have attached these earthly, temporal, self-centered definitions to the ‘fill-in-the-blank’ of “If God loves me, He will _________.” Or, “Because God loves me, He won’t _________.”  And God, because He truly does love us much too much to play this silly, deceitful game, will always give us what we really need, more than what we think we really want.

Hannah Hurnard, in her book Hinds Feet in High Places writes

“Love is beautiful, but it is also terrible – terrible in its determination to allow nothing blemished or unworthy to remain in the beloved.”

That is the way that you and I are loved.

Beautifully. Terribly. But beautifully.

Can we just settle that point?  I am choosing to see everything that comes my way as a gift from God.  Whether it is an unpleasant circumstance that presses me to Him, an unkind word that wounds my pride, or an unexpected check in the mail!  It is all for my ultimate good, and if I respond properly, at the end of the day I will look more like Jesus than I did this morning.  And everyone knows, THAT’S GOOD!!!

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Posted in Hope, Joy, Love, Mary Bea Miller, Patience, Seeking God, Trusting God

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It’s not what you think

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Abby| 19 Comments

By Julia Hare

I have always been a dreamer, but my dreams don’t tend to fit the norm.  My big heart dreams up ways to save the world and rescue everyone in need.  When I was 20, I spent 2 months in a place that ruined me for dreaming of anything less.  Children thrown out like garbage and a country destroyed by an evil dictator.  I would never be able to live for myself after that.

The thing we often don’t account for when He speaks to us, or gives us vision for something, is that His word is a seed and seeds don’t become plants overnight.  We have lost something in our society, especially here in the good ole USA, called WAITING.  I call it the age of the microwave.  Everything is faster and takes less effort than it did when I was a kid.  I am so grateful for the example of my parents and grandparents for whom everything did not come quick and easy.

This process of waiting has been excruciating at times for me.  I’ve gone through years of doubting that He was even there, much less had any thought to fulfill the desires of my heart.  So easily discouraged.  I had to come to a decision that I was going to settle in to what was right in front of me… my job… ministering to the students who came in and out of my classroom year after year.  Not fair to call it a job when I can see now that it is a gift and the way He has chosen to minister through me.

Seeds take a lot of care in order to become mature plants and each plant is different.  The Gardener is the one who knows what’s best for each seed to reach its full potential.  God has had to consistently remind me that I’m not the gardener.  My only job is to make sure my heart and life are good soil; the rest of it is up to Him.  Recently I heard someone preaching on trust and he was describing the worst kind of backseat driver.  He said what many of us do is allow God to drive, but then we want to tell him the best way to get there or we sit there terrified of what is up ahead and around the corner.

I have come to realize that the fulfillment of the things He has put in my heart doesn’t look like the grandeur in my mind.  It looks like small steps and the grit of the day to day pouring out of my life for people in need.  I can stand staring at the big picture for the rest of my life and accomplish nothing or I can start somewhere, right where I am.  For the first time in my life, I am not looking ahead for what’s next, but considering how I can make sure today I have given my very best with all of my heart.

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Hidden Places

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Abby| 24 Comments

By Abby King

The journey to work begins early for me. Bleary eyes stare out of the window as the bus wends its way through the sleepy morning right into the heart of Cambridge. We pass colleges hidden away behind high stone enclosures and I think about the centuries of history they conceal. Ancient wooden doors suddenly appearing in walls never cease to intrigue me as I consider the brilliant minds sequestered away behind them, splitting atoms and sequencing DNA for the first time; founding economic theory and discovering electrons and x-rays. I muse over John Milton and Isaac Newton, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, Byron and Tennyson, Wordsworth and Coleridge; the Nobel Prize winners; the women who were offered their first chance of a residential university education; the historians, lawyers, politicians and writers who have changed the world. So much of what we know, who we are and how we live has been shaped in this place.

But my journey does not end here.

The bus continues on, taking a southern route out of town, past the famous hospital, through housing estates, down long roads, crossing open fields, and eventually winding up in the obscurity of a small village miles outside the city. My place not among the hallowed halls of academia, my time not filled with famous faces of past and present, my seat of education far less auspicious than the one I have just left behind.

“Really God?” I ask. “Teaching little ones in a small village school? Is this how I can be most effective in your Kingdom? Are you sure? I have so many big ideas and hopes and dreams. What about them, Lord?”

His reply, “I started out as a carpenter, remember?”

Images of the years Jesus was tucked away in a workshop flood my mind in ways they are never recorded in the Gospels. In them He was learning His Father’s ways and timing and perspective. He was learning surrender, trust, patience. If the Son of God had to work through these days and months and years of preparation, how much more must I?

I begin to see that, though I am the teacher, I am also the one receiving an education. I am the one learning to recognize the Divine imaged stamped on a stubborn six-year-old. I am the one learning that I am His hands and feet and voice, whether I am in front of a huge crowd or in front of one small child. I am learning to live in this moment and wait for God’s timing. Maybe most of all, I am learning that “Patience… is the ally of a soul that makes God its primary pursuit, because in this journey called life, regardless of the scenery, such a soul is deeply contented in the Company” (Chole 2006:33).

The Company is faithful and unchanging; sees and appreciates all that is in us, even when others don’t; accompanies us through the hidden and obscure days, months and decades in our story to ensure that He is our only anchor and reference point, His the only approval we need.

And it occurs to me that maybe this deep contentment with the Company is all we need to be truly satisfied. And I get a tiny flash of understanding that the hard work of waiting behind doors that are presently closed to me could have profound, influential and life-changing consequences, if I continue to co-operate with the Spirit…

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Cor 4:19

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Because sometimes it’s the best I can do…

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Abby| 3 Comments

By Betsy McIntyre

Here in Minnesota, it is seriously winter.  With windchills in the negative twenties and crusty snowbanks everywhere I look, this season can get me kinda down.  It manifests itself mostly through me never calling anyone back and instead going to bed at about 8:30 p.m.  Really, though, there are good days and bad.

Surprisingly enough, someone got up to preach this Sunday that hasn’t preached in a long time.  And when he started talking, it was about depression.  It was about how worthless we feel when we are depressed and feel far far away from God.  Like we’ve done something wrong.  Like He can’t hear us, or maybe just doesn’t want to answer.  The falseness of these thoughts is obvious from the outside, but inside that cold dark room, nothing seems impossible.

In times like this, worship is tough.  But I go there, knowing that I have met Him there before.  And even when He reveals Himself and maybe even gives me some direction, I always qualify it later, telling myself that I came up with that direction on my own.

Our preacher this Sunday used scripture in the most comforting way I know – He showed us a moment in Elijah’s life that made him real to me.  Sometimes these guys in the Old Testament can seem a little over the top, but Elijah apparently had some bad days of his own after his first run-in with Jezebel.

1 Kings 19: 4-13

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Am I blind enough not to notice the hands of the angel that feeds me?  Yes.  Am I fool enough to whine to God?  Absolutely.  Does he come to meet me anyway?  Yes – because even though I may not always appreciate what He is doing for me, I still seek Him. Because sometimes it is the best I can do.

Photo Credit: Betsy McIntyre

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Thoughts on the Order of Things

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Abby| 19 Comments

by Emily Jefferies

It’s dark out already at 5:30, the dusk settling quickly when there’s no horizon to be seen between the thousands of skyscrapers that make up this city I live in. I’m on my bicycle, absent-mindedly weaving my way home through the quiet back lanes and alleys of Taipei, all so familiar, the families inside just sitting down to dinners fragrant with garlic and noodles and vegetable broth. Sometimes the sound of spoon scraping against wok will sneak audibly to the street as I breeze past. The streetlights take turns illuminating, and I pass in and out of shadow in a rhythm that resembles your favorite lullaby. The night sounds of a busy street one block over seem far away and somehow separate from this little world I’m gliding through. It’s beautiful, and tonight I am a part of it all. Time is whirring on, much like the sound my bike tires are making, and I’m carried forward along with everything else.

My mind is floating tonight, and only half-enjoying all this loveliness. In truth I’m all tangled up inside, wondering what to do with the fact that I love it here, and love it in Michigan too. Confused about the always-present and always-contradictory desires to stay in university, teach full-time, have our first child and tour the world in a whirlwind adventure. Trying to be content with roommates and one bathroom, but aching to have a space of my own. These thoughts are endlessly pinging back and forth in my brain and heart, breaking in with “what if” and “what then” and “how about” at the most inopportune moments, like this one, which should be spent drinking in the sights and sounds of the evening. All of my energies should be spent in humble thankfulness to God for the gift of life, for starters, but instead are eaten up by worries and elaborate plans for the future that never quite seem to take hold or make sense.

Uneasy. Unsettled. Unraveled. Unfocused.

The road has guided me to a door and I stop in front of it, home. A quick fumble for keys produces a little bundle. Mentally trying to sort which one is which, I remember that there are two especially important keys: one for now, the front door, and one for later, our apartment upstairs.

One, two. Have to remember both. Ok, got it.

Confident in my sorting abilities, I squint in the low light and place key in keyhole, push forward, turn to the right. But instead of hearing the familiar click, the key is stuck. Won’t turn right. “Well, that’s weird” I mumble, and try again. Same thing. Taking the key out for inspection, I was totally surprised to find that, even with all of my counting “one, two” and separating the keys out, I had jumped ahead to the one I’d need for later.

Without even noticing, the first step was skipped over and I thought it was time for step number two.

A voice from heaven whispered, “Well, that’s what you’re busy doing,” and it hit me.

I’ve been spending so much time – planning and plotting, counting carefully, adding everything up, thinking about what comes next – that I totally forgot to think about what’s happening right now, what God has given as a gift today. I’ve been jumping forward through time in huge leaps and bounds, barely noticing the life that’s happening in front of me.

Slowly, and with all of my attention now, I find the right key, its shape familiar, the one with three humps like a clover. I put it in, turn and hear the click that assures I’ve done the right thing. Climbing the stairs one by one, I savor each step as it brings me closer. In my hand is the key for our front door, the round one. Two feet come to a stop and I’ve reached my destination. The key fits perfectly, because I put the right one in this time. In just a few seconds I’m inside a cocoon of warmth for the weary traveler, and Lottie the cat greets with an ankle rub and a soft “welcome home” in kitty language. “Oh, gorgeous kitty.” I purr back. “Do you not worry about tomorrow? Do you wake every morning and expect food in your bowl, provision for another day?” She scurries away without response but I’m guessing she is wiser than me, choosing to trust in her master without looking too far ahead.

A week has passed since then, but I continue to ponder those whispered words.

And I pray amidst tears Oh, Lord, why is it so hard to trust You? Why do I so often get lost in the maze of my own making, counting days and money and ideas? Which is step one, and step two, and step three for that matter? And where are You in all of this? Is it right and good to be making plans, or is it wrong of me? Again I’m spinning with all the different thoughts running around, not sure where to stand.

But God’s word is for me, for you, for us, and He said to us one day, standing tall on a hill before thousands of people with questions just like ours,

“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.  Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.”

And it was Jesus who first pleaded with God,  “Give us today the food we need.”

Oh, today I am pleading too. Lord God, Creator of the universe, help me. Give me what I need and no more, give me the bread of life. Give me Jesus, let me feast upon His words, the only real sustenance there is.

Call out to me loud, so I can hear you amidst the crowding foolishness of my own thoughts and worries and doubts. Oh Holy Spirit, whisper peace to my soul, calm the raging waters, remind me in every moment what it is I’m searching for. Help me to notice You in the quiet, in the loud; in the past, in the now, in the quest for the future. You are my All In All, the One who started my little life with a breath and will give me my last breath too, tenderly holding the moments in between.

Today I choose to wait for You. I choose to trust You. I choose to follow You. I choose to listen to You. I choose to submit to You. I choose to LOVE You. I. choose. You.

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Reflections On Winter

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Abby| 9 Comments

by Angie King

After Christmas our family went out for a walk on a cold winter’s afternoon. The roads were slushy and the countryside bare in winter’s grip. The snow had finally begun to thaw, and the dank smell of rotting leaves hung in the air. It put me in mind of the often quoted scripture:

Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.  John 12 :24

I heard a radio interview the other day with a man suddenly forced to confront the possibility of his own death. He was a survivor of the 7/7 London bombings. He was thrown out of the tube train by the blast and pinned against the tunnel wall by the carriage door. As he lay in the dark he started to shout.

‘I knew I was seriously injured and I didn’t want to die alone.’

He was rescued by a fellow passenger in an act of remarkable bravery who said:

‘I knew I had to reach him, he needed to know he wasn’t alone.’

I think these two men articulate our deepest fear, that, essentially, we are alone. Despite all our connections with others, basically we have to face life’s challenges on our own. If you have ever had to uproot yourself and move to another church, city, or even country, you will have experienced a period when you are not known or understood by others. The bonds of trust grow slowly, trust in our motives and ministry, and trust in each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Perhaps this is what Jesus is referring to when he asks us to plant our seed and die underground – to face up to the fear of being alone and unknown, our gifts and talents unrecognised.  But maybe, just maybe the ground is actually a safe place for the seed.  Hidden in the dark, it is out of harm’s way, resting, waiting for spring’s warmth and moisture to bring life.

So maybe this season is not something to fear at all, but just a time to rest and wait for the promise of spring.

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