I am spending part of this week in North Carolina, staying with grandson Liam as he recovers from having his tonsils and adenoids removed. Today it has been a week since his surgery and I must admit, I thought he would be doing great by now. After all, it has been a full week. But, he’s not. We have spent the days very quietly – coloring, watching movies, reading Harry Potter together, and having a very short visit with my mother. As we’ve awakened this morning, he has yet to eat and has gone back to sleep on the sofa in the family room.
Moving slowly – some small steps forward, larger steps backward. I know he is recovering, but the process seems so slow. This has made me think of our Christian faith. Oftentimes, we can find ourselves ready to be fully formed in our faith, but, like Liam, it is a slow process. Being fully formed takes time, slow growth, and some backward movement. But, in all this. if we keep slowly and deliberately honoring the things that strengthen our faith – prayer, Bible study, support of fellow Christians, worship – we will, like Liam, continue to move into a stronger and fuller faith. It takes time and it takes consistent work, but God is faithful.
So, as Liam rests, takes his medicine, and drinks a lot of liquids, I know that he will return to his former, rambunctious self. Let us all do the same as we move toward maturity in our faith, following the prescription of our Great Physician each and every day.
-Pastor Jane