May 14 ~ Colossians 3:12-13
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This was my “quote for the day” today… “A police officer saw a lady driving and knitting at the same time, so after driving next to her for a while, he yelled, ‘Pull over!’ ‘No!’ she called back. ‘It’s a pair of socks!’”
A very good friend of mine called recently to “vent” about her aging mother. It’s time for “the talk” – the one where my friend tries to convince her mother to stop driving! After numerous “fender-benders” and a situation that could have been tragic, my friend sees that it’s only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens if she doesn’t intervene. Thankfully, she is not driving and knitting… but her reflexes and judgment on the road are impaired, all the same. Still, like many aging seniors, my friend’s mother thinks there is nothing wrong with her driving… and she is quite insulted that anyone would even suggest she lay down the keys!
In exasperation, my friend finally told her, “If I find out that you have driven that car out of town for any reason, I am coming over here and get your keys and take them home with me!” This reminded me of a time when my mother was exasperated with her mother, who would not stop cooking on her electric range and allow her Home Health aide to do the cooking. One day mother told my grandmother, “If you turn one knob on the cookstove, I’ll remove the heating element and carry it in my purse!”
Like my friend, my mother grappled with a lack of patience and the arguments with my grandparents that ensued. And I understand… there were PLENTY of times when I lost patience with my Mam-ma Polly. Hey, I lose patience with someone on almost a daily basis! And therein lies the problem. Paul is reminding us that we ALL have faults. If we had any inkling of how often we exasperate the LORD… if we knew how frequently and easily He could lose patience with us… we would think twice about how we are treating others. We so don’t deserve the love, mercy, kindness, gentleness and patience we receive from God on a minute-by-minute basis. The least we can do is to show our respect and honor for these blessings by treating others in the same manner – and with a mega dose of humility.
I’m not saying that we won’t lose patience with people and situations. We’re human… it will happen. But we can become more aware of what we are saying… and how we treat others… and lessen the frequency and impact of these events. We can ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Hopefully this will be the impetus we need to see things in a new light – and to temper our behavior.
At the end of the day, my friend still has to do what is in the best interest of all concerned. As I told her when we spoke, “You may have to make your mom mad my friend in order to keep her safe. We are praying and asking God to equip her with an extra dose of patience, humility, and lovingkindness as she does what has to be done. And I’m going to ask Him to soften the heart of my friend’s mother – and give her patience and understanding also, as her daughter sees after her well-being.
We are so blessed that God offers us His love, mercy and patience. Won’t you ask Him to give you a hefty measure of these qualities, as well?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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