Lessons of a Sunday

Dontcha just hate it when you go to church and all the lessons are about YOU? Oh, not me specifically. Nobody stood up and said, Beth, you need this lesson. But I got the message all right.

First, I haven't been as good as I should be about supporting something I'm involved in that I don't entirely agree with. By profession, I am an educator, a consultant, and consequently somewhat of a perfectionist. I'm a little kinder than to say "My way, or the highway", but too often I secretly wish some people would just hit the road, if you know what I mean.

Today I was reminded that if the project itself is worthy, I should hang in there, continuing to be supportive even when others are struggling to get it right. I know not to do it for them -- 24 years of motherhood teaches you that pretty quick -- and I have enough restraint not to just abandon them to their misery. But sometimes I'm not as helpful as I could be.

The other lesson was to be more patient when waiting for answers to prayers. When I worked for the Pacific Geoscience Center I learned about geologic time, which is very, very slow. Once you grasp that, you can begin to understand the Lord's timeline, which at times seems to be even slower. Remember, He's taking all eternity into account, too, not just Earth time. I definitely have to work on my patience. Of course, with broadband expectations, who wants to wait for dialup anymore?