Tag: Gift

Patience…

Patience is often said to be a desired virtue, but one we fail to demonstrate.

In a society geared toward productivity, the clock becomes a slave driver and the loss of control challenges every level of patience.

Kenneson identifies patience as yielding control to another (109). Biblical patience is others-directed.

Obstacles include segmenting, regulating, and hoarding time, as well as, exalting productivity, and the desire for speed.

Patience is cultivated by remembering God’s patience with us in times we stumble through life determining our place in His redemptive story. We also cultivate patience by thinking of time differently, as a gift instead of commodity.

Believing in Others…

Everyone needs someone to believe in them, especially a father. Jim Valvano once said, “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”

I am thankful my father believed in me and my ability to do ministry. In some ways, he spent his life preparing me for this work.

While I am thankful for the foundation he laid, knowing he had confidence in me to accomplish the work was encouraging. 

No one achieves anything of value alone. We need others to believe in us and express confidence in our abilities. 

Great leaders see it and know how to build that confidence in others.