Good morning…
On most major holidays, our family serves warm meals to the homeless through “Hosea Feed the Hungry.” This Christmas was no exception. After enjoying our traditional egg-sausage-cheese casserole and opening each wrapped gift under our tree, our family of six hopped in the car and drove to the World Congress Center to give a few hours of service.
Donning hair nets with plastic gloves and aprons, my fourteen year old son and I worked across the table from one another. We were given the task of grabbing a Styrofoam box, serving up a handful of turkey, and passing the meal onto other family members to add rice and yams, green beans and bread. My son said, “I am piling on as much turkey as possible in each box so I can make homeless people feel loved on Christmas.”
The challenge came when the process slowed. A hold up with the carts delivering the meal. A standstill at our serving table. An unproductive lull. “What are we doing? We are just wasting our time,” annoyance poured from each of my son’s pores. I responded, “What are we doing? We are practicing patience.”
Whether we are fourteen or fifty-two, homeless or well-fed, daily we are given opportunities to practice patience. With people. With unalterable situations. With unmet expectations. When we hit a stand still and things do not go as planned, we have a choice to make. We can serve up anger or we serve up peace. We serve up tension or we can serve up grace. We can serve up a spirit of critical complaint or we can serve up a Spirit of unconditional love.
Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love, 2 Peter 1:5-7 (CEV),
Sue
