Fruit of the Spirit: Just a Little Patience…
Sometimes I like to revisit the fruits of the Spirit and see if I am reflecting them well in my life or if there is an adjustment that needs to be made. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. These traits all fit together and flow into one another in some way, but they also can seem to be elusive to reflect all at the same time. One just always seems to fall a little out of line. For me one of the bigger difficulties is Patience, but it is also one that you can see the influence of on a small and grand scale.
There is nothing more revealing of how shallow your Patience is than working with young children. When you want nothing more for a young preschooler to follow directions and contribute to their classmate’s learning, that is often far from the reality. Today we had a student brought out to the lobby for causing a distraction in their class and refusing to put their shoes back on their feet. In the middle of the day when you are thinking of how many things there are to do and how much time you have left, it is easy to choose the non-patient path. Instead, I took a deep breath, sat down next to her and just started asking questions. Not questions about why she was out of class, why her shoes were off, why she was not following instructions. Questions about what she liked, Zootopia, Henry Danger, stories. Just spent 5 minutes building enough relationship and take her mind off whatever triggered it to get to the point where I could ask her, “are you ready to put your shoes back on?” and “are you ready to go back to class?” Relationships take time to build, Love takes time to be felt, and Patience is key to allowing that to happen.
It is also a struggle to have that Patience on the grand scale, where I not only know that I want that student to put her shoes on and follow directions, but I also want to be fifteen years down the road where she is supporting her classmates and making an impact in her community. I want to see that now, and I think that is human to want, and I think that the line in the Lord’s Prayer “and give us this day our daily bread” is so poignant. It is an intentional reminder to us that today is enough. As much as we, some days, want to be living in the fruit that is fifteen years away, we have enough to sustain us for today. And there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus and his disciples were very hungry when they were praying this one day. No doubt in my mind that many of them were wanting to go out and try to find food and did not want to have to spend more time praying to get some food. But nevertheless, it is in there. So let’s be thankful today for that one relationship that was strengthened, that one area of life that improved, that one piece of fruit of the Kingdom of God that fed our Spirit today.
Ethan Essex
Mighty Oak Supplies Lists!!!
The start of the school year is here. If you would like to support through purchasing supplies, it’s not too late. You can find those lists here:
Supply Wishlist: https://a.co/4IDGPaN
Snack List: https://a.co/g4DnQYr
Merriment Online!!
If you are missing browsing our shelves, don’t fret, there are plenty of ways to browse online. To view our ebay store click here. If you want to view our larger items visit our Facebook Marketplace here. We are still accepting donations, if you would like to donate call (502) 930-9006. Check out one of this week’s featured items below.
Fish Fry Open!!!
The Fish Fry is OPEN! We look forward to seeing you so you can get your fix of fish, churched up tots, or whatever else is calling your name!
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.