Tolerance in Love

"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" ~Ephesians 4:1-2

Showing tolerance for one another...in love...I'm not very good at that. Not only am I not very good at that, I sometimes make it hard for other people to do that. I am probably not the only person that feels this way, but I require a lot of patience and tolerance. If you are going to be my friend, you have to have patience. I would love to be the kind of person that you love to have around, but sometimes its hard enough to just tolerate me.

I am not saying this to be down on myself, although it sure sounds that way. I read this verse this morning, and it hit me hard. I want to be that person. I want to walk every step of my life in a manner worthy of the calling that I have. I want to be a woman of humility and gentleness, patience and tolerance...a woman of love. Anything less than that is not what I have been called to.

So, how can I grow in humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance? The answer to that question hit me like a ton of bricks, and actually made me laugh out loud...the after-school program!!! The after-school program was once my passion and the one thing I looked forward to more than anything else. However, because of a bunch of different things, the after-school program has become the most challenging thing that I do. And I have to do it every day. Alone. There are many days that I want to quit, and many more days that I dread 3:00.

The truth is, though, the fact that its hard doesn't make it bad. I have been throwing around the idea of not having after-school again next year, and I am still very seriously considering it. However, those thoughts were making it even harder to get through each day now. I started to get excited about where God might take me next year, and completely lost sight of where He has me now. Regardless of what He has for me and after-school in the future, I know I'm all in for now. I wish I could say that I am 100% excited about the rest of this year, but I'm honestly not. In order for me to grow in humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance, I have to be challenged in those areas. Believe me, I am challenged in each of those areas every day at after-school...and I have a long way to go.

Today was actually the first "normal" day that I have had in a while. I didn't have any trips to the hospital to make (I forgot to mention that Travis was released from the hospital yesterday and is doing well! Keep praying, though, he is still pretty weak, though the malaria is gone for good!), I wasn't in Africa, and all my regular stuff is back in full swing. My house is clean, I'm caught up on my work, after-school and Kids Club went well and overall things seem pretty good. I have also been able to spend some good time with Bonita and Linda, and I just love those girls! I do still need to clean my car, which I will hopefully have time for tomorrow.

I have consistently heard the word "persevere" in my quiet times over the last few months, and I know that's what I need to do. It was very easy to do that today, we only had 5 kids at after-school. They all did their homework quickly and played together well the rest of the time. It was a great day! We'll see what tomorrow holds...