2021 Daily Devotion - Day 338

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The story is told about a first-grade teacher who was having a difficult day. It had rained the entire day and the children couldn’t go out for recess, so they got more and more restless and hyperactive as the day wore on. The teacher couldn’t wait for the bell to ring at 3 o’clock. At about 2:45, she saw it was still raining, and so she decided to start getting the kids ready for dismissal. She sorted out their boots and raincoats and started helping get them dressed. Finally, they were ready to go, all except for one little boy whose boots were just too small for his feet. There were no zippers or straps, and it took every last ounce of strength she had to get them on.

When at last she did get them on, she straightened up with a sigh of relief. That’s when the little boy looked down at his feet and said, "Teacher, you know what? These boots aren’t mine!"

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but being the good teacher she was, she smiled bravely and started taking them off. And they were harder to get off than they were to put on. She yanked and tugged until finally the boots were off. That’s when the little boy smiled at her and said, "They’re not my boots, but they’re my sister’s, and I got to wear them!"

There are many times when so many pressures and demands are put upon us and we lose our patience. In this period of COVID-19, it is especially difficult to be patient with all of the problems we face. But just as we laugh at the situation of this poor teacher, perhaps we can learn to sometimes laugh at our own challenges and how they seem to multiply. I am sure even this teacher eventually had a smile on her face. It is easy to allow the forces of our time to make us become angry and bitter people, but we do not have to go there. We can try to find some humor or a life lesson in it all. In these times, God is calling us to higher ground which is what the Apostle Paul means in these words:

Ephesians 4:2 ESV
…. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, it is easy to blow our top when life becomes so difficult. However, You are calling us to have a different response. Help us to look for the humor or the new insight we can gain when life becomes surreal. Help us to respond with humility, gentleness and patience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church

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