Be Patient with the Chaos by Craig Hill

Be Patient with the Chaos

A year ago I was riding in the backseat of my business partner’s car with his daughter Lindsey, as he drove us to dinner, along with his wife Sue. Lindsey was 9 at the time. I asked Lindsey who her favorite teacher was. She said, “My math teacher, because I’m not good with math and she taught me to just be comfortable with the chaos, and be patient, and if you are, then after a while, it will all start making sense. I used to get frustrated and just give up, then I could never understand. Now I’m doing better at math.”

I was amazed. I looked at her, sat forward and looked at my partner, Aubrey. I said, “Aubrey, did you hear what Lindsey just said? That was amazing.” I said to Lindsey, “You are a wise little girl. That was a very profound thing to say!” Sue and Aubrey were also impressed with what their little girl had said. Aubrey and I still talk about what she said – just today in fact, we told a couple of people about it as we were talking to them at a conference in Boston.

And isn’t life like that? Sometimes, oftentimes, we have a bad day, or a bad week, or a bad year. And we wonder what’s going on. We say, “God, what is happening here? I don’t get it. Why are you putting me through this?”

Isn’t that what Mathew 6: 31 to 34 is saying to us? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink? Or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As for Lindsey ,doesn’t the Bible say that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’ ?”

And of course there is this scripture:

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

If Lindsey can deal with the stress and chaos of math better by being patient, then we should be able to deal with life’s trials and tribulations better too.