Patience

So it turns out that patience is not one of my virtues. The Stone household could be fairly characterized as the most impatient place on earth right now. Yes, we know that the next stage will be more difficult and that we'll get even less sleep. But that doesn't mean that we're content to stay pregnant for what feels like the rest of our lives! Though Margaret's due date is not until next week, the truth is that we expected this child to get a move on! It's time already! (We went to the doctor's office this morning and discovered that we may need a hostage negotiator...Baby Stone is apparently blockading herself in!)

In any event, as all of this impatience stirred inside me on Wednesday, I found myself at the final meeting of my Spring Bible study. It's hard to believe, but we made it all the way through Genesis this semester at break-neck speed. As we concluded the study, we took time to consider some of the dominant themes that run throughout the first book of our Scriptures. Though there are many (as you might guess), one recurring theme has become both a comfort and source of hope in our time of waiting.

On three different occasions (Sarah, Rachel, Rebekah), we hear about a woman who waits an extraordinary amount of time for the birth of her first child. Beyond the obvious comparison (i.e. that Margaret and I have been waiting for an eternity for our daughter to arrive), there is a point to the tardiness of this first-born. Each of these women was promised a child by God, but there was no timetable set for said promise. You can imagine the impatience that brewed as Sarah reached the century mark in age with no child. The remarkable thing about all three stories is that they each responded to the delay in the same way: they tried to take control of the Promise. Though God was the source of the Promise, God was apparently not responding quickly enough for the women so they tried various methods to hurry the Promise along (it's worth the time to read about their methods...very strange). Though their attempts (and the cooperation of their husbands) crossed the line into sin, God remained faithful to His Promise in spite of their rebellion.

One of the reasons I find Genesis so intriguing is that the characters are so...human. Isn't the response of the women exactly what we try to do when we feel like God is taking His own sweet time? Yet, even when we cross from impatience to rebellion, God always seems to respond. And it's not just any response, it's the perfect response for the situation we find ourselves in. It's comforting to know that even our earliest and most faithful ancestors just couldn't wait. So we wait with hope, knowing that God will deliver on God's promises. That's what He has done for as long as we've known Him. That's who He is. That's who He will continue to be, every time we need Him.

Peace,
Matt

Rulers

In all the craziness of Holy Week and the virus that Margaret and I battled, I was not only unable to send out a newsletter last week, I was also forced to skip an appointment with the most intimidating group of people at this church: the children who attend the worship time (called Special Moments) on Tuesday mornings with the School for Little Children (none older than kindergarten age). While they may not seem intimidating to you, just wait until you have to lead the devotional for their time of worship! They're brutal! In any event, I was unable to lead Special Moments last week, so I switched with Rev. Tefteller and told her I would do it this week. Naturally, Tuesday morning rolled around this week and I completely forgot about it. Fortunately, Judy stepped in and saved my life. For whatever reason, teaching small children is more intimidating for me than preaching to a thousand people! Nonetheless, in the wake of Tuesday morning's disaster, I began to think about what I could have done a lesson on. Usually I find the easiest thing to do is an object lesson. Whether you're 2 or 82, if you can see the object of a teaching, it's a lot easier to connect to the message. This is why visual aids can be such effective tools in worship: a video clip or a picture can sometimes convey a message that simple words never could. So as I looked for the object of my would-be lesson, I noticed a yellow ruler sitting on my desk. When I was younger an object like a ruler represented infinite possibilities. Some good, some bad. For instance, I may or may not have used a ruler to annoy a girl I liked in 3rd grade. And I may or may not have used a ruler to attack a mortal enemy in 1st grade. Likewise, rulers were the best tool for drawing the straightest line on the wing of the airplanes I drew incessantly in 2nd grade. They also demonstrated remarkable usefulness in measuring various items that a 10 year old must know the length of. You get the picture. Rulers can be misused to cause annoyance, pain, and general trouble. Or they can be used appropriately and effectively to accomplish the purposes for which they are made. Are we any different?

Peace,Matt

PS- Maybe I can use this blog to help break my fear of the small children?