Practicing Faith, Hope and Love at the same time

Listening the to the great MockingCast the other day and one of the hosts (Scott Jones) made mention of a book by Thomas Halik entitled Patience with God. In the book, there is a quote from Adel Bestavros (who I have no idea who this is which is probably a clear indication that I don't know how to us Google). Bestavros said (I may be paraphrasing): "Patience with others is love, patience with self is hope and patience with God is faith." 

For the talk about how the church needs to preach practical sermons that connect people with what is in the Bible with their lives...

For all the marketing that goes on to ensure that small groups have the latest resource and accompanying video to discuss...

For all the concern that people don't go to church because it is irrelevant to daily life. 

For all the effort we put into thinking about what it means to live the spiritual life...

It all may come down to a discipline that we just don't want to practice - patience.

Why I love to wait

Generally speaking, I like to wait. It really does not bother me to be in traffic or wait for the doctor. Granted, there are some exceptions but for the most part waiting does not bother me. 

Waiting is the one where we are given social permission to do nothing. It is like a "rest" in disguise. It is a time when we can do nothing and not have the social stigma of "doing nothing". 

Waiting is a time when we can practice Sabbath in the small room of our souls and no one blames us for resting. Think of the last time you were in traffic or waiting at the DMV. You may have gotten frustrated but no one was frustrated with you for "just waiting". 

We live in a time that does not value time off or rest or vacation or Sabbath because we are not "doing". At the same time we idolize the time in our lives when we are "retired" and don't have to work. The beauty of waiting is having the best of both worlds. It is both a time of doing and not doing. It is a time of work and rest in the same moment. 

This is, in part, what I love to wait.

"What if God does not write you back?"

I had an encounter with a child about the age of seven. This young person wrote a letter to God which read:

Dear God, if you are real, please write yes or no on the back. If you need me to do anything please write it here. Please help me not be afurade (sic) of monsters. From your servant, (child's name)

There was a deep feeling in my bowls and to the point now that when I read this letter even now, I am moved with a mix of emotions. In the moments after reading this letter to God, I asked the child, "What if God does not write you back?" 

This child looked at me with innocent wide eyes and stated in a matter of fact voice, "I will just wait."

In all my years of training and ministry, in all my years of practicing patience and listening, I was humbled by the wisdom of this seven year old. 

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" - Psalm 27:14

Get in the long line

In college my roommate and I engaged in a number of practices that looking back on them they were odd but I am so glad that I did them. For instance, we spent several weeks sleeping on the hard floor and not in our individual bunks. We called people from the phone book in San Antonio and introduced ourselves and just said that we would be praying for them. We gave ourselves a budget of $100 a month.

The best thing we did was stand in line. 

Wherever we went we would intentionally choose the long lines to wait in. We would go to the grocery store and then begin to look for the longest line we could find to wait in to check out. We did this time and time again for months. And over time something in us began to change. 

We saw that we were less anxious when we were in a rush because we had practice waiting. We were more thankful when we did have a shorter line and things went quickly. We were more attentive to the parents of small children who needed the shorter line in order to get their tired child home. We were able to engage in conversation with others in line and learn some great stories of people (like the guy worked as a clown in the circus for 15+ years). 

So for what it is worth, take every opportunity you can to get into the long line. Wait there and see what you see. Listen to the people around you. See God in the midst of it all. Remember that lines are less a way to order people an more a way to connect with people.