Unfinished


 

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

My grandson Abram is anxiously waiting for his rocks to be finished. These are rocks that he brought back from Tennessee, his new favorite place. After panning through the dirt, Abram was so pleased to find several big rocks and even more small ones. He was not terribly pleased with the fact that they weren’t as pretty as some of his Pop Pop’s stones. Pop patiently explained to Abram that the rocks had to be tumbled and that tumbling is a pretty long process. Today we are just three days from the finished product and Abram is beside himself with excitement. He has big plans for those rocks.

          A few minutes ago I read the verse from Philippians my first thought was of a conversation that I had yesterday. In dealing with one of my more stubborn students I had to stop and take a deep breath and remind myself of his limitations, so that I would continue with gentle firmness and not just lose it. A co-worker observed me. This woman watches my every move because I’m one of those “Christians.” Read that as people she doesn’t quite get or trust. I know she judges all of my reactions and I want to shine for my Father. So I smiled at her as I leaned down to gently encourage my little buddy and I said, “God’s still working on me.”

          It’s true, much like Abram’s rocks, I’m unfinished. I’m not the shiny, sparkly, full restored product that I will be on my arrival at home. Unlike Abram’s rocks which have taken several weeks to prepare, my process will last my whole time on earth. Again, like Abram, sometimes I’m excited about the finished product and sometimes I just want it to be done. I want it now! Abram says, “But can’t I just see them?” and Pop says “not yet.” I ask why I keep making the same mistakes, repeating the same sins and Abba just smiles.
          It’s easy to tell Abram to have patience, that the result will be worth the wait but not so easy to wait myself.  The “product” I want to see right now, is me, shiny and always doing the work I was given to do, always living to my purpose. While Abram’s wait is just about over, I don’t know how long I’m going to wait to see my Savior. I do know that it will be well worth the wait. In the meantime, I’ll continue to stop, take a breath and know that God is still working on me

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