ABBA FATHER, I thank YOU for the opportunity to share YOU again. Thank YOU for showing me my own issues and more importantly for extending YOUR Forgiving Love at the same time. Speak LORD! YOUR servant-daughter is listening! Decrease me and Increase YOU through my writing and allow the words that come from it to strengthen another (and me); to grow another (and me) and to cause us to be a greater reflection of YOU and YOUR Love in all our ways, in the matchless Name LORD JESUS.
Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9
Much like a stubborn, two-year-old, I really did not want to engage in this particular lesson. I tried to find and follow an alternate path but this one wore on me. I've learned that the most challenging lessons - when the words seem to be pressing against your own window - are the hardest to share. Likewise, I realized that where there is no test, there really is no testimony. And, too, if you have never been hurt, you haven't really learned to forgive.
Now, in all honesty, that last one was a lesson that I’d rather pass on! If I have to be hurt, nevermind! But alas, I could not. My Spiritual Mom says it this way, like the scriptures say - We "must needs go through Samaria'…"
My sons grew up in the Boy Scouts of America. They all started out as Tiger Cubs. And we determined early in their Scouting careers that they would not be just scouts, but that they all would goal for and attain the rank of Eagle. An Eagle is the highest rank and most rare of Scouts, with only two percent of all boys in the world reaching that level. To earn this rank, one must complete a series of activities. At the completion of each activity, you earn a badge. A young man may choose any combination of badges to reach his goal. Most of the activities are loads of fun for the guys - camping, hiking, archery.
Others call for more thought and attention to a task and are designed to stretch a person beyond his own self-imposed boundaries. These are the required badges. They are the badges you must earn… if you want to matriculate from 2nd/1st class to Star to Life to Eagle Scout. You “must needs go through Samaria.”
My son, Daniel’s ‘boundary-stretching Samaria,’ was swimming. We discovered, around age 13 that Daniel was not particularly fond of large bodies of water. He didn’t care for dinner cruises, paddle-boat rides or … swimming. That was a problem because we needed that badge to complete the requirements for his Eagle. I am happy to report that my son faced his aversion to water activities, took lessons, added a swimming badge to his Scouting resume and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 2013.
This is a lesson that I have periodically drawn from (thank you, Daniel). Sometimes, you must go to it or through it – whatever ‘it’ may be. There have been times that I was afraid (to show my vulnerability). There were other instances that I just didn’t want to! “I mean – Really, LORD?? YOU want me to do this, or say that?!? REALLY? Don’t YOU remember how many times I did that… and the response I got in return?? Don’t YOU remember how it made me feel?
In short, Paul is telling us in Galatians 6, “Well – yeah… GOD DOES know how often you have availed your Self. Yes - HE does know how many times you have set your personal needs aside for the desires of others. And YES – HE especially remembers how deeply you were hurt when you gave your very best to those that you loved so much, only to have them walk away without as much as a ‘thank you.’
Yes - GOD does know and it's why HE had Paul to warn us to “… not be weary…”
Webster’s online definition of ‘weary’ includes the following:
“Annoyed by something because you have seen, heard or done it many times.” A synonym for weary is sapped – to gradually weaken a person’s strength or power.
Okay! Now I get it! Don’t allow the good you do to drain you of your strength and power. Don’t allow your graciousness to others to become such an annoyance that you are unwilling to assist someone when you see a need.
The fact of the matter is – you might not be recognized right away. You may very well never hear the ‘thank you’ or ‘feel’ the gratitude. Somewhere along the way, you might even get your feelings hurt… but please – don’t give up. In due season, if you don’t faint (weaken), you will reap. Somewhere along the way, your efforts will be acknowledged and your hard work will be recognized.
One day, when you least expect it (and probably from a different source), your hard work, your generosity, your kindness will receive the acknowledgment it deserves. One day, you will get your swimming badge and find yourself soaring above mountain tops… like the Eagle that you are! (Thanks, Daniel!)
Val Crawford
Contributing Writer
No comments:
Post a Comment