Patience

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” -Romans 8:25

As I write this, I’m entering week eight following a total knee replacement. If you or someone you know has experienced anything like this, you know exactly why scriptures about patience are speaking to me right now!

At 70 years old, I feel as if I’m learning how to walk all over again. Thankfully, I’m not falling down in the process, the way a toddler does. But every day is a new adventure in using a walker (the grown-up version) to get around, going up and down stairs one step at a time (15 steps from our main floor to our upstairs, in case you’re wondering), and trying to bend my knee. (A little. More. Every. Day.) My daily routine has become exercise, elevate and ice. Over and over and over...

Do I sound a bit impatient?

It’s because I am!

Some days, I try to distract myself by watching TV. I won’t tell you how many programs I’ve binge-watched in the past weeks.

Some days, every single thing I try to do involves using language no good Christian woman should probably use.

Some days, I have to stop with the whining and remind myself that, like the Pink Panther, “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better.” Even if it’s in small increments. Very small.

I’ve had lots of time to reflect on what it means to be patient. It occurs to me that what I’m learning may apply to all kinds of situations in which we find ourselves, waiting for something good to occur. A healing. A reconciliation. A new beginning.

We all face these periods of waiting sometimes—as individuals, as families, as citizens, and as congregations.

We have shared many such periods in our church. Many transitions. We have kept the church going as we awaited new pastors—usually a fairly long process in the PCUSA. We have seen beloved members leave over denominational positions on inclusivity. We have waited for our Session to reach decisions affecting many aspects of the church.

Through these periods of waiting, we have continued to follow Jesus.

It has not always been easy.

Sometimes, we grow tired of weathering yet another transition. Sometimes, our feelings of sadness and frustration get in the way.

But we have always sought God’s will for the church; and we have never stopped our attempts to live into our calling as Easter people—people of hope.

We are living through some big transitions now, as Pastor Ken leaves to follow God’s calling in another church, and as we restructure the Presbyterian Church Resale Shop. I confess to you that there are moments when my feelings have prevented me from being patient. If you’re like me, you share in the sadness of losing our beloved Crews family, while at the same time you are happy that God has provided a wonderful new opportunity for them. If you’re like me, taking the high road as we maneuver our way through the resale shop’s current challenges has sometimes been quite difficult.

But history shows that we, as a church family, will travel through these times with grace, and with the strength that only comes from God—strength to wait for the good things that await us. Perhaps we will not always wait patiently—but we will wait with faith in God’s leading.

Faith that, as Julian of Norwich reminds us, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

My knee shall continue to heal!

We shall part with Pastor Ken with love and gratitude for all he and his family have meant—and will continue to mean—to us.

We shall continue to minister to those in need through the mission of our Presbyterian Church Resale Shop.

Friend, if you’re worrying about what lies ahead for you and for our church, know that God is in it! Though we are sometimes impatient, though we want things to happen according to our own plans, Jesus is beside us as we walk through our times of waiting.

Even if we’re using a walker to slowly get through to the other side!

Blessings,

Lou Ann