Holy Endurance

James 1:2-3
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 


Time is a chrysalis. Metamorphic. She shifts and wains. Just as swells perpetually break anew and squalls find infinite rebirth, the line of time comes as, either a crashing wave or a whispering waft. We may lay on her lush green hillside and, musingly, gaze into the firmament. We dream of what could be. We admire her shapes and edges. Her soft white ends grace us with freedom to hope and mercy to envision what could be. Or, perhaps, we are suffocated by her ever-tightening grasp. The weight of obligation grips us, compulsions clutch, and burdens seize. We grapple, mightily, with ferocity, only to surrender with pants and puffs.

Perception is by no means the ultimate authority of our reality. However true, pretense stands as our gilded escort and our spirit is lead astray, far from God driven synchronicity. We wander desperately into the unknown, praying that we are not overcome by perceptions's snares. We hope for a gentle touch of times cordial caresses. But He is strong in our proclivity to anxieties and false promises of hours, minutes, and days. 

I can't help but feel as though my biggest enemy is time. Not actual time but my perception of time. How is it that I consider "time lost" or "time gained" relevant? Am I even qualified to decide what time is "good" and which is "bad", lost or gained? 

Lord, please help me to view time as you do. Help me to see that, in a Kingdom mindset, time is only as relevant as the souls, yet to be found, are. Give me the lens to see that any and all time laid down at your feet is, and will always be, time well spent. My momentary troubles are beautiful! Thank you for each and every opportunity to grow in joy. Lastly, help my endurance be that of someone who can peer into forever, not just a short 80 +/- years. 

I love you Jesus, 
Levi