Arrival Time

The Olympics fascinate me. Absolutely incredulous when I see the moment of triumph for these athletes who have endured so much and come so far! How 'bout the US women's gymnastic team? Come on with that! Spectacular!

Have you seen the Proctor and Gamble Olympic moms commercial? (click here!) Such a tear jerker for me!

Olympian mothers, having endure the years of training trials, alight upon the most significant athletic precipice her child will ever know.  The Olympic dream is what they have longed for and fought for. And as we watch these athletes, in awe and with great respect, we are welcomed into their dream come true. They have arrived at the 2012 Olympics.

Arrival - A MOMENT of MOMENTS is something we long for as we journey - whatever our course, and yet truly - we don't REALLY ever arrive. Did I just hear a bubble pop? Nah. I'm not telling you anything you don't already realize. Sure we reach a point on our destination, but once we get there, don't we have to move once again? Right? I mean, ARRIVING, as some of us speak of ARRIVING... does not insure rest. We never fully rest, no matter what place we reach. We must continue forward, or determine our downward climb, if that is our choice.   The "I have arrived" idea casts a vision for the end to struggle.. And it's wrong. Struggle will continue; it will just be a different one.

So - where am I goin' with all this???.I'm learning about patience. We who believe in THE PATIENT GOD are called to imitate Him, and frankly (love that word...I'll say it again) FRANKLY, I am not patient. If you are a momma like me, then maybe you have repeated a lesson on "love one another" this summer more often than you would have liked to. And if you are like me, your love and patience glow is not being reflected as brilliantly as it was the first day of vacation.

I was tenderly reminded as I studied patience this week , that God is patient with my babes, and He has been patient with me much longer than He has been patient with them. I have not arrived at who God knows I am able to be, and as much as I think I have learned or completed in crushing my old ways - I am still far from the image of Christ. Why do I expect my children to be more than I am capable of being?

The amazing idea for me, is that God is patient - in part - because He sees the end result with as much clarity and familiarity as the starting point. He knows - actually sees - AND - even better than that - IS - the beginning and the end. Revelation 22:12. He endures the training highs and lows with us and always sees the end result. He does not have to worry or wonder if we'll get there; cross his fingers, hope and pray, - HE SEES the moment of arrival! He authored it! IT WILL HAPPEN!

If our GOD can be patient then, for what He has purposed to be in us -  in our children - then shouldn't we be able to fully trust Him, and RELAX a bit in the learning? And I just don't mean relax in our own learning - I mean be patient in our children's learning, and be patient in our friend's learning!

 Consider with me.Hebrews 12:2 - "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God." Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith. When we are frustrated with our babes, with our friends, with others in general - isn't our impatience then directed toward Christ? I mean, really? Who is the one who opens the eyes of the blind? Who is the one who gives us understanding? I know for certain it was not me - it is not EVER me - who brings to my mind and heart the understanding of God's Word.

As desperate as I am for my children to understand what it means to love one another well - to be patient with one another throughout the day,  they are also desperate for me to get it with them. Are they not? Absolutely - they just don't realize it - yet.(Patience, Babes. Momma's learning.) But God - our Faith Author does - and I am trusting Him to teach us all in such a way to endear our hearts to Him and to one another. Grateful to see His story unfolding! Grateful to know it will have a beautiful ending that will blow my mind.

So for today - I will look to Jesus - who endured so much more than I will EVER endure in today's sibling battles for the comfy chair, the remote, to go first...etc. etc. etc. JOY is assured. Our Patient God sees the moment of completion for all of us - and when I look to Him... I will see it too.

"LOOK I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Revelation 22:12

And REAAALLY, when you think about this verse, - the impatience we experience is born out of the expectation for arrival that NO ONE will never know in this lifetime. Jesus is the only one who will ARRIVE, and in so doing - HE will bring all of us to completion. I can't wait to witness this with you! Can you even imagine? We can make it. See it with me - today - and every day. Remind me. The day is coming, and because it is we can live in patience for it - trusting our Patient God who promised it.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12 - for us all.