Patience In Faith
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"Patience in Faith" by Peter Andrew Smith
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Patience in Faith
by Peter Andrew Smith
Exodus 24:12-18
"I don't know what I am doing wrong." Becky looked up from the notebook in front of her.
Nell walked over to the kitchen table and peered over Becky's shoulder. "My calculus days are well behind me, Becky, but it looks like you are getting the answers right."
"I can do the problems and get them right," Becky said. "I just don't understand them."
"I don't follow."
"They don't make sense to me."
Nell shrugged her shoulders. "But they must because you are answering them correctly."
Becky closed her notebook. "Never mind. You wouldn't get it."
Nell sat down in a chair next to Becky. "We're not talking about homework, are we?"
"Yes."
Her grandmother waited.
Becky sighed. "No."
"Talk to me, Becky."
"It's my life."
"What about it?"
"I try to be a good person. I pray and work hard at school." Becky paused. "It hasn't always been that way."
"I know," Nell said.
"You do?"
"Yes, I do." Nell tilted her head to one side. "But you're not upset about the past are you?"
"No. I'm frustrated by my life now."
"Why? I thought things were going well for you since you came to live with me."
Becky grabbed her grandmother's hands. "They are and please don't think that I'm not grateful for you taking me in and helping me to finish school."
Nell smiled. "Becky, I know you are grateful and I know that you have been working hard since you moved in with me."
Becky frowned. "That's the problem."
"Okay, you are going to have to explain that to me."
"I don't know if I can."
"Try."
"I have been going to school and doing all my homework. I've been going to church and reading my Bible and praying each day." Becky took a deep breath. "I've been staying away from the... problems I had before I came here."
"Yes, you have." Nell squeezed Beck's hand. "I'm very proud of you."
Becky smiled. "Thanks, Nan, I couldn't have done it without you."
"You're not telling me what is bothering you," Nell said.
"It just feels like I am going through the motions. It's like doing these problems. I find the answer but I don't feel any smarter." Becky got up and began to pace around the kitchen. "I ask God to help me be a better person. I go to church and try to follow Jesus. Yet I feel like same person as when I started. I think I'm a failure."
Nell scratched her chin for a few moments. "How long does it take to make bread?"
Becky stopped in place. "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
"You've watched me make bread ever since you were a little girl," Nell smiled. "One of my favorite memories is when we used to make bread together on a Sunday afternoon."
"Mine too," Becky said. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Answer my question." Nell gestured at the empty chair beside her. "How long does it take to make bread?"
Becky sat. "It takes about half an hour to bake."
"So if we started now could we have bread in half an hour?"
"No," Becky said. "We would need to mix the ingredients and let it rise before it is ready to bake."
"And how long does it take for bread to rise?"
"A couple of hours," Becky said. "But it feels like forever."
"Exactly."
Becky tilted her head to one side. "You've lost me."
"Is the flour a failure before it is mixed together to become bread?"
"No, it is just not dough yet."
"Is the dough a failure when it is rising?"
"No, it is just not finished yet."
"Absolutely," Nell squeezed Becky's hand. "You're not finished yet so don't knock yourself out. You are doing the right things and becoming a better person because you are walking with God. Be patient with yourself."
"But Nan it is taking so long."
Nell laughed. "Moses went up the mountain to speak to God and it took forty days and forty nights. That's a long time no matter how you want to look at it."
Becky smiled. "I guess I should be a bit more patient."
"Indeed you should," Nell said. "You should also sit back and realize how far you have come. You may not be finished but you are well on your way."
Becky smiled at her grandmother. "Nan, can I ask a favor?"
"Anything."
"Can we bake some bread this afternoon?"
Nell laughed, kissed her granddaughter, and together they began to gather the necessary ingredients.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, March 2, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Patience in Faith" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * *
Patience in Faith
by Peter Andrew Smith
Exodus 24:12-18
"I don't know what I am doing wrong." Becky looked up from the notebook in front of her.
Nell walked over to the kitchen table and peered over Becky's shoulder. "My calculus days are well behind me, Becky, but it looks like you are getting the answers right."
"I can do the problems and get them right," Becky said. "I just don't understand them."
"I don't follow."
"They don't make sense to me."
Nell shrugged her shoulders. "But they must because you are answering them correctly."
Becky closed her notebook. "Never mind. You wouldn't get it."
Nell sat down in a chair next to Becky. "We're not talking about homework, are we?"
"Yes."
Her grandmother waited.
Becky sighed. "No."
"Talk to me, Becky."
"It's my life."
"What about it?"
"I try to be a good person. I pray and work hard at school." Becky paused. "It hasn't always been that way."
"I know," Nell said.
"You do?"
"Yes, I do." Nell tilted her head to one side. "But you're not upset about the past are you?"
"No. I'm frustrated by my life now."
"Why? I thought things were going well for you since you came to live with me."
Becky grabbed her grandmother's hands. "They are and please don't think that I'm not grateful for you taking me in and helping me to finish school."
Nell smiled. "Becky, I know you are grateful and I know that you have been working hard since you moved in with me."
Becky frowned. "That's the problem."
"Okay, you are going to have to explain that to me."
"I don't know if I can."
"Try."
"I have been going to school and doing all my homework. I've been going to church and reading my Bible and praying each day." Becky took a deep breath. "I've been staying away from the... problems I had before I came here."
"Yes, you have." Nell squeezed Beck's hand. "I'm very proud of you."
Becky smiled. "Thanks, Nan, I couldn't have done it without you."
"You're not telling me what is bothering you," Nell said.
"It just feels like I am going through the motions. It's like doing these problems. I find the answer but I don't feel any smarter." Becky got up and began to pace around the kitchen. "I ask God to help me be a better person. I go to church and try to follow Jesus. Yet I feel like same person as when I started. I think I'm a failure."
Nell scratched her chin for a few moments. "How long does it take to make bread?"
Becky stopped in place. "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
"You've watched me make bread ever since you were a little girl," Nell smiled. "One of my favorite memories is when we used to make bread together on a Sunday afternoon."
"Mine too," Becky said. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Answer my question." Nell gestured at the empty chair beside her. "How long does it take to make bread?"
Becky sat. "It takes about half an hour to bake."
"So if we started now could we have bread in half an hour?"
"No," Becky said. "We would need to mix the ingredients and let it rise before it is ready to bake."
"And how long does it take for bread to rise?"
"A couple of hours," Becky said. "But it feels like forever."
"Exactly."
Becky tilted her head to one side. "You've lost me."
"Is the flour a failure before it is mixed together to become bread?"
"No, it is just not dough yet."
"Is the dough a failure when it is rising?"
"No, it is just not finished yet."
"Absolutely," Nell squeezed Becky's hand. "You're not finished yet so don't knock yourself out. You are doing the right things and becoming a better person because you are walking with God. Be patient with yourself."
"But Nan it is taking so long."
Nell laughed. "Moses went up the mountain to speak to God and it took forty days and forty nights. That's a long time no matter how you want to look at it."
Becky smiled. "I guess I should be a bit more patient."
"Indeed you should," Nell said. "You should also sit back and realize how far you have come. You may not be finished but you are well on your way."
Becky smiled at her grandmother. "Nan, can I ask a favor?"
"Anything."
"Can we bake some bread this afternoon?"
Nell laughed, kissed her granddaughter, and together they began to gather the necessary ingredients.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, March 2, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
