Last spring I was excited to see a coffee tree at a local café with ripe coffee "cherries" on it. I nabbed one and took it home to plant. There was little hope of my little coffee bean growing after being left without water for weeks at a time, and getting dumped into my sink and almost being washed down the drain. But after three long months it finally sprouted! I babied and loved on that thing and watched it grow with anticipation. Eventually, the coffee bean shell began to dry up and I could see bright green leaves forming underneath.
And then it stopped growing.
I waited and waited and kept hoping that one morning I'd wake up and find that the leaves had burst out of their shell. But nothing happened. For months. I resisted the urge to peel away the dried skin to help it grow - I don't remember a lot from my elementary school days, but I do remember this: you never ever under any circumstance try and help a struggling butterfly out of its cocoon. I assumed the same would apply to plants, so I waited a little longer until I finally couldn't take it anymore. Five months had passed since the sprout had stopped growing and looked so helpless all cramped inside it's drying "cocoon", and I decided there must be something wrong. So I carefully peeled off the pieces of dried shell and - with much joy and satisfaction - saw two beautiful green leaves begin to uncurl. I could almost sense them thanking me.
I was bursting with pride and new hope for my little plant....until I woke up the next morning to find it completely shriveled up and dead. I could have cried!! I still can't bear to throw it away as I spent so many months caring for that silly thing and encouraging it along.
But this dead little plant has also served as a good reminder to me about the value of patience in my own life.
How many times do I struggle with waiting as God teaches, molds and grows me? How many times do I want to burst out of my uncomfortable circumstances, not realizing that God is nourishing and growing me, and preparing me for what's next? A.B. Simpson says that just like a doctor fixing a broken bone, "God too has His spiritual splints He wants to put on His children to keep them quiet and still."
"The Bible has a great deal to say about waiting for God, and the teaching cannot be too strongly emphasized. We so easily become impatient with God's delays. Yet much of our trouble in life is the result of our restless, and sometimes reckless, haste. We cannot wait for the fruit to ripen, but insist on picking it while it is still green. We cannot wait for the answers to our prayers, although it may take many years for the things we pray for to be prepared for us."
(Streams in the Desert)
Ephesians 4:15 says that we are to "grow up in all things into [Christ]." I'm unbelievably impatient when it comes to my walk with the Lord. I want to be wise and mature now! I tear off those binding 'splints' in my impatience, thinking that I'm doing myself a favor. But if I want to grow well, if I want to be "rooted and built up in [Christ] and established in the faith" (Colossians 2:7) then I need to leave my 'cocoons' be. God is using those difficult circumstances (or trying times, or long periods of waiting), and if we are patient, then "the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." (1 Peter 5:10)