Patience

Well, summer time is in full swing. I don't know where you live, but in Oklahoma it’s hot, baby!!! Every day over 100 degrees. But just as quickly as it heats up, it will cool down. And with fall in our future, so is FOOTBALL. Many of you may not be aware of this, but I live with a future Heisman Trophy winner. My son Taylor is going all the way in his football career. Last week he started 8th grade conditioning camp. You know, those early morning drills where you lift so much weight that it seems like your guts are about to explode. Then they bring in some trainer (Taylor's just happens to be a chick) who forces you to do all sorts of weird palates moves using muscles you swore you never had before. And just when you think it’s all over, you spend the last 30 minutes running until you throw up. Literally, the first day I saw kids ejecting their breakfast right there on the football field!

This is one of those experiences that I will never have to face. Though the grueling practice of conditioning camp is abhorred by every football player on the earth, it is still the key factor to why Pryor Junior High football team has gone undefeated in the past. It’s called getting in shape, and when it’s over we all love the results of our persistence.

In some ways we all face those moments when it seems like if we have to go another day like this then we are going to explode! For you maybe it’s working at a job you don't enjoy, or sitting next to that person in class who, quite literally, annoys the crap out of you. Either way it’s conditioning you to be a better person.

For us it’s been starting this church. We have loved the opportunities God has given us to meet people, connect with others in the community and building the thing that, we believe, has been placed in our hearts. However, because we still have properties in Topeka on the market to sell, we can't buy a house in Pryor. We are forced to live 30 minutes away with Tyra's parents and anxiously await the necessary end to our real estate endeavors in Kansas. Don't get me wrong, Papa and G-ma are awesome as grandparents but not having our own space is a little unsettling. And I won't even go into all the thousand$ of dollars we have spent, trying to float two households in two different states.

I guess that’s when you take those scriptures that say, “But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.” James 1:4 and “having done all, to stand. ...Stand therefore,” Eph 6:14 King James calls it Patience.

When you are forced to embrace patience it can seem like your guts are going to explode, but the results of becoming completely mature and not lacking anything are well worth it.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. If you are facing some things in your own life, know that even though it may seem a little tough right now, “this too will pass.” Soon God will deliver you out. He always comes through.

Keep your chin up

Darian

Those of you interested in more info on YOURplaceCHURCH or have a desire to give towards the launch budget go to www.YOURplaceCHURCH.com