Painting Patience

I’m another chick who loves life wasting on the wonderful website that is Pinterest. I love the do-it-yourself decoration ideas so much that my room is full of ‘em! My most favorite thing? Turning pallets into shelves. Seriously. Beautiful. A long while ago I snagged one from my dad’s workplace (he works in a rugged, manly trucking company that’s full of ‘em), bought some sand paper and cute colored paint, and made myself the trendiest little shelf. It’s too heavy to hang on my rented home’s walls so it’s still hangin’ out in the corner of my bedroom but at least it’s pretty.

My closest friends rightfully tease me for my quirky affection. But there’s one gentlemanly friend who has gifted me two pallets since learning of my love for them. His workplace, like my Pa’s, is rugged and manly and those pallets need a home (this is why I am likely to die alone). So just like my older pallet, I got to paint the new ones. Today I sanded them down and opened the bucket of cute colored paint, who’s lid was rusted on because of my not having painted in quite some time.

The color of the paint was distorted as the oils had naturally separated. I was afraid I’d have to buy a new can because this one had endured the snow and I don’t know what happens when paint freezes. Inside the can was a musty, rusted color – one that I did not want to color my pallets. I had a nifty stirring stick and was hopeful that the color would obediently return to the favored shade as I mixed. It was cold outside and I hadn’t wanted to stand there for long. It took me forever to find the result I wanted but as I endured the physical labor (it was a big deal) I wanted to give up. Eventually the paint became the cute color I wanted and I painted away. And my cute new shelving units are drying.

I know I’m unlike Jesus in many ways but I couldn’t help but consider God’s character as I tried to remain patient with the becoming of my paint’s pure color. He’s patient and I am not which makes me fall more in love with His grace. I know this imagery is corny, but growing into becoming more like Jesus has taken me so long to get only to this point in my life. Where I’ve grown in many areas there seem to be all the more sins to fight against. Like the paint, it’ll take me what seems to be forever to become something pure and beautiful. As I count the many blessings God has graciously grown me through, I get to grow more in likeness of Him while I continue to grow in patience with His will for my life and others.

There is much expected fruit with being part of a church plant. We are here to see people saved as we grow our Doxa Community. And I wanted to see that fruit two and a half years ago. He’s given much but not as I’d hoped to see it (which has been ultimately beneficial but still incredibly hard). God has made it abundantly clear that this church is His, which I'm understanding to be more than I could ever need. As we continue to preach the gospel in our little building and fight for relational growth,  I hope for a patient heart as God grants his goodness in ways that I’ll still not expect. I hope to push through the hard seasons for I know more than ever that they’ll continue to come, that I might find more Christlikeness in the long run in myself and those around me.