Time and Patience: Lessons from the Ice

For most of my formidable childhood and youth, the sport that captured my heart, my time and my devotion was one that taught discipline, grace, preparing, repetition, and a lot of bruising.  The ice was not kind or gracious when one fell, but every morning and afternoon my blades would cut and carve designs into it, making deep sounds and spraying ice with it.  Sometimes I would end up on the ice more than I would have liked, but you can't stay there.  You've got to pick yourself up, trying again, and again, and again.  Other times, all that would touch were the delicate and fiercely sharp edges of the thin silver blade that was attached with eight screws below my leather boot. That's when the ICE and the BLADE become an art form, dancing together in a highly unlikely and beautiful fashion.  

Right now the ICE represents TIME, and the BLADE represents PATIENCE: waiting, and everything I once learned half a lifetime ago.  In one week, the children start school, and we have yet to know which school they will be attending in our new city (as we wait for circumstances).  My like-to-plan-way-in-advance brain is trying to settle with the reality that TIME is not on my side, and I have no control over it.  PATIENCE is in my control, and I can do as much planning as earthly possible but there is still an element of waiting and not knowing.  I don't like it as much as I didn't like tripping over my toe pick while doing a spiral and ending up with a thud on my hipbone.  But in order for me to allow PATIENCE to do its work, I must let go, get off the cold ice, and lean into the edge that will draw me closer to the purpose of all of this.  In the midst of the unknown on many different levels, I do have a peace.  I know the Lord's formation in our family at this moment is more important than the circumstances surrounding us, and yet I do know that He cares about our needs and the childrens' needs, and I rest in that.  It's hard, but that's okay.  As long as perspective is kept, TIME and PATIENCE can dance in perfect rhythm, resting in the knowledge that all will be well.