Good morning…
“The mind wakes, comes to life again,” writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh in Gift from the Sea. “Not in a city sense – no – but beach-wise. It begins to drift, to play, to turn over in gentle careless rolls like those lazy waves on the beach. One never knows what chance treasures these easy unconscious rollers may toss up, on the smooth white sand of the conscious mind; what perfectly round stone, what rare shell from the ocean floor.”
“But it must not be sought for or – heaven forbid! – dug for,” Anne warns. “No, no dredging of the sea bottom here. That would defeat one’s purpose. The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceness as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea” (10-11).
“Friends – this came to me as I read the 5th segment for Week Two,” wrote one of the women experiencing the interactive study of Gift from the Sea, a study God and I are writing together week by week.
*****
Putting
All Things (events, hopes, fears, prayers)
In the
Everlasting
Never-failing
Completely sufficient and
Eternal presence of God’s love
******
What a life-giving chance treasure God just rolled up on the smooth sands of our conscious mind. With so many events and hopes, fears and prayers tumbling, jumbling, fumbling around, it is essential for us to put all things in the everlasting, never-failing, completely sufficient, eternal presence of God’s love – and – to watch the LORD empower our patience.
We know that patience is a virtue, but what more do we learn when we google the definition?
Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
Delay. Trouble. Suffering. What an apt way to describe life for so many of us right now. Accept. Tolerate. Without anger or upset. How hard these humbling tasks become as COVID continues, racial and political tensions rage, and pain divides us before it brings us together. Right now, daily life is certainly “trying our patience.”
Now let’s turn to the Bible to uncover the core of this God-given capacity called patience.
The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride (Ecclesiastes 7:8, GNT).
Experience makes you more patient, and you are most patient when you ignore insults (Proverbs 19:11, ERV).
We understand completely what it means to serve God. We are patient and kind. We serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve him with true love (2 Corinthians 6:6, NIRV).
Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing (James 1:2-4, VOICE).
God is guiding us to a better end. Patience grows by ignoring insults. Harnessing the power of the Holy Spirit, we develop patience, kindness, and true love. Faith and joy blossom under pressure, teaching us the gift of patient endurance.
With so many events and hopes, fears and prayers tumbling, jumbling, fumbling around, it is essential for us to Put All Things In the Everlasting, Never-failing, Completely sufficient, Eternal presence of God’s love. And let patient endurance finish its work (James 1:4a, EHV).
…Sue…
P.S. For those interested in joining us, here is this week’s fresh installment:
Week Three of our Gift from the Sea study
Segment Two: Inner and Outer Harmony
Segment Three: Finding God’s Balance
Segment Four: The Art of Shedding
Segment Five: Our Inside Answer
To enjoy this wisdom yourself and share it freely with others, this is the link to our evolving study as it grows week by week:
