Patience

I've had a dry blogging spell. I hadn't even given it much thought because things have sunk in so much. I've lately been feeling some restlessness about being just about the only twenty something on campus. Its' really starting to get to me. I enjoy exertions into town and days I see my family and friends more than ever. They mean a lot to me. I've been a little scatterbrained lately but I feel like I've been a bit distracted lately but hopefully that will end now.

Tutoring is in full swing now. I have found that even when I'm not feeling all that great, when I'm helping the students I have endless patience. I thank God for this gift. I really don't know what to say about it except that it astounds me that I can explain something and then do it again in a different way, then encourage them to try themselves and keep a calm, collected, patient, happy attitude. If I'm feeling irritated about something when I start I feel a little better when I finish. It's really astounding.

Tutoring isn't quite the same as teaching because it's on an individual level. The dynamics are very different and I didn't know much about it until I began it. I'm discovering that I like it but in a different way than teaching in a classroom. The subject matter is much more random in that I have to learn with the students because I'm not following along on a lesson plan.

I want to thank God again for the abilities He has given me to serve Him and others. The following text is Galatians 5:22-26 found in The Message Bible which is a paraphrase translation. It wouldn't be used when doing Bible study but it can be helpful and offers a clearer picture sometimes as it puts the Bible in a more literal language. I find what is says particularly nice.

But what happens when they live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way tat fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction of the holiness found in God . We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off of good - crucified.

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make suer that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implicatiosn in every detail of our lives. that means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.