‘…At just the right time we will reap…’ Galatians 6:9 NLT
Susan was the only member of her family motivated to work for change. Her husband, a military pilot, was gone months on end while she brought up the children alone. Her repeated efforts to reform him and the children had failed miserably. Pointing out that doing more of what hadn’t worked wouldn’t make it work, the counsellor suggested she work on what she could change: she responded! He taught her to ‘defect in place’: relinquishing some of her ‘overload’. Everyone became responsible for their own dirty dishes, laundry, untidy room etc. And Susan used the time she saved to do something she’d always wanted to do – take voice lessons. Yes, she found it difficult to avoid picking up after everybody and carrying their responsibilities. At first, when nobody assumed the unfinished workload and the ‘mess seemed unbearable’, she was tempted to give in and return to ‘her old job’. Then, with perfect timing, she read a book about breaking the sound barrier. Pilots who attempted it had always given up when the plane vibrated violently, until astronaut Chuck Yeager said to himself, ‘Maybe once you get through the vibrating everything calms down.’ Yeager sped up where the others slowed down, and flew through the barrier into the calm beyond. After a weekend of unrelenting family criticism, Susan ‘revved up’, persisting against her old instincts. It took time. But after their complaints, the children took on more responsibilities, and her husband accepted fewer distant assignments. ‘So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.’
SoulFood: Ecc 9-12, John 12:1-11, Ps 76, Pr 30:15-17
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2013
