. . . His Wonders to Perform

“God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.” These lines taken from the hymn by William Cowper (1731-1800) suggest that we, his children, do not always understand the path or means the Lord uses to bring to pass his purposes until we recognize the fruit of his wisdom as he directs our lives. At church today, a mother of grown children talked about her frequent prayers that God would grant her patience and it wasn’t until some time later that she recognized the endless frustratingly difficult situations that had come her way while she continued to pray for PATIENCE were, in fact, the ANSWERS to her prayers. Her experience struck a chord with me because I had done the same thing: pray earnestly for patience when I found myself the mother of three young children. I don’t know what I expected- I didn’t really think God would tap me with a magic wand or pour soothing patience into my soul- BUT I was naïve enough not to realize that this life was given us to LEARN to choose God and Godliness and a wise Heavenly Father carefully orchestrates our experiences to give us the opportunity to learn and develop our character and abilities through that experience.

My answer to prayers for patience came in the form of repeated calls to serve in the church nursery. We moved several times in those early years and each time we moved, I was asked to serve in the nursery. I felt I had my own nursery 24 hours a day, seven days a week at home. I wanted a break from kids- not an assignment to care for other people’s kids instead of attending services with the adults. In the end, I made the connection between my prayers and the Lord’s gracious offer to spend extra time with young children where patience was essential. My response was to stop praying for patience. I have grown more patient with young children over the years but the biggest lesson I learned was that God answers prayers by giving us mountains to climb. Attributes of the spirit are developed the same way muscles grow- by repetitive use. Dancers and athletes develop control and co-ordination in addition to strength through constant intense practice. Patience comes in the same way- if God lovingly grants us the conditions that require it.