BUZZARD

   I could have learned a great lesson from the "buzzard", but I didn’t. When I was a child on a farm in North Eastern Arkansas, I would lie on my back in the grass and look up into the sky. Often, I would spot a buzzard gliding effortlessly -- seemingly for hours at a time -- just waiting to swoop down to get its food. At the time, I wondered how this bird could just float in the air so easily. As I got older and understood more about aerodynamics, I realized how the buzzard could remain in the air for hours. I also wondered what made the buzzard circle for hours while the other birds would fly hurriedly from spot to spot, landing for short periods of time picking up grain and taking flight again. I learned that the buzzard was being patient and letting nature provide its food. It would only have to swoop down and pick it up. How could this buzzard be so patient?

   We think of Job as the patient one in the scriptures because of all that he had and all that he lost. Although his wife and friends asked him to curse God, he refused to do so for he was a man of God. He continued to endure the struggles as they were placed before him and he finally prevailed. Job received more in the end than he had in the beginning.

   Growing up on the farm, we would plant. The Lord would water. We would wait for the harvest. The waiting was the hardest; because that was the only time we had money coming in. Yet, it seemed to take an endless amount of time for our crop to mature in order for the harvest to come. My parents knew the necessity to wait until the harvest was ready. Just like the buzzard, they knew the time when all would be right.

   After leaving the farm, I have now been caught up in the microwave world and want everything now! I think all things should happen immediately. However, I am told in Galatians 5, that patience is a virtue and that I must posses it in my life. But, what does patience do for me? (1) patience provides health for my soul, Luke 21:19; (2) patience gives me hope, Rom. 15:4; (3) patience perfects my character, James 1:4.

   I think of the times when my patience is short and the thoughts that go through my mind that are not what I know God wants to be there. I think of times when I’m in the "15 item only" grocery express check-out line and the person in front of me has 18 items. I counted them! I wonder why the person writing the check can’t have the check ready except for the dollar amount when coming to the cash register. I wonder why the person in front of me didn’t get merchandise with a bar code on it so that there wouldn’t be a call for a price check. When I’m driving, I wonder why the person directly behind me has to pass, just to turn off at the next exit 50 yards down the road. All of these things, as well as other similarities wear on my patience. Why??? I’ll tell you why: (1) my time is more important than your time; (2) don’t you realize that your slowness is irritating me; (3) come on, I have things to do; (4) my activities are more important than yours; (5) this waiting is inconvenient for me. There are so many other reasons.

   I spoke about lack of patience during Sunday Evening New Years Eve service and the fact that I needed to work on that part of my life. I had one of two choices. I could stay away from the situations where the issue could occur; or, encounter the situation and think pleasant thoughts. The lack of patience is not something that God has given to me. It is a choice that I have made and it adds absolutely no value to my life. It causes stress and irritation and actions within me that are not Godly. Certainly, all of this pales in comparison to what Job had to endure; yet, he remained faithful to his God just as I must.

   I need to once again lie back on the grass and watch the patience of the buzzard waiting until "just the right moment". God will provide that moment to us. Can we be patient enough to trust Him?

Dick Jones