If you live in the Northeast you know the pessimistic saying, “There are only 2 seasons: Winter and road construction.” Neither season is much fun.
I often think about that saying when I hit a long construction delay on a trip during the summer.
Today, I just finished digging out from a big snowstorm. Sure snow is beautiful to look at but it can be a pain…in the back.
When you’re waiting on someone to grow or change it can feel worse than winter and road construction wrapped into one. You are doing lots of waiting without any of the warmth or beauty of summer.
When it comes to growth we tend to have more patience with children than we do adults. Have you ever thought, “They’re an adult they should know better” or “They’re too old to act like that?”
Why do we have more patience with kids? Because we understand they are still under construction. They still have more growing to do…physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
We give kids way more grace than we do adults.
Here is something I don’t want you to miss…just because someone has matured physically doesn’t mean they have matured emotionally or spiritually. We often lump it all together. Their foot stopped growing, but that doesn’t mean their character and personhood has.
I’m not saying it’s okay for adults to act like children. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be consequences or they are exempt from responsibility for the choices they make. What I’m saying is that when it comes to growing emotionally and spiritually there aren’t the same milestones that you have with physical growth and time.
Consider this, What if they didn’t start from where you started in life?
What if they didn’t have the same loving family that you did? What if they didn’t have the opportunities, support, and encouragement you benefited from? We often judge people based on where we started and then condemn them for not making as much progress as we have.
We really have no idea how far someone has come to get to where they are right now. It’s like getting to a road that’s being paved. We don’t know what they had to start with so maybe all things considered they are making great time.
Here is something else to think about…What if the person you are so frustrated with has actually grown more than you have over your lifetime based on what you each had to work with?
The bottom line is God isn’t finished with them and He isn’t finished with you either. We will be under construction our entire life. Your foot may have stopped growing but your character and spirit will continue to grow until you meet Jesus.
Maybe, just maybe, Jesus brought this person in your life because He wants you to grow in grace, compassion, and patience towards other. Maybe He feels you’ve got a little growing to do yourself.
Would you have more grace if you looked at each person as still under construction and let the Master Builder do what He does best? (Phil 1:6)
