Reading
Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.
James 5:7 (NRSV)
Reflection
As I sit here writing this on a 102° day, I find myself dreaming of fall—the crispness in the air and one of my favorite things about the season: the changing leaves. Oklahoma may not be at the top of the list for fall foliage destinations, but when we’re lucky, we can catch glimpses of color here and there.
Last fall, I was fortunate enough to visit Vermont in October. It was beautiful to see the colors of fall sweeping across the mountains, but one of my favorite things was seeing the leaves up close. I was struck by the way the colors bled into one another.
The leaves don’t change all at once. It’s not as though they are green one night and bright red the next morning. Sometimes it may feel that way, but the change happens gradually. Oftentimes, what actually changes is our noticing. We suddenly realize that something is different, even though we didn’t see all the small changes that led to that more noticeable transformation.
Leaves change color over time, sometimes so slowly that we only notice it happening when we pay special attention to it. Our spiritual and personal growth often happens in that same way. We can’t expect meaningful change to happen to us instantly.
There is a difference between trying hard and training hard. Trying hard can become too focused on immediate results. We want to be instantly good at something, but that isn’t realistic. But when we train, we begin to see growth through small steps and consistent practice. We can’t expect ourselves to be good at something we have never practiced before.
Because growth takes time, we all need to be patient with ourselves. Instead of demanding instant transformation, we can make room for progress. And as we learn to be patient with ourselves, we are invited to extend that same patience to others, who may be growing and changing in ways we cannot yet see.
Prayer
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
