Month 2, Part 1: The Fruit of Patience
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
INTRODUCTION
Scripture talks about forebearance/patience as one of God’s character traits and part of the fruit of the Spirit. For the first half of this month we will look at the fruit of patience.
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Description text goes hereSome of you might choose to do it all in one sitting. Some of you may do one section per day. Some of you might work through it multiple times. We truly want this to work FOR you! Our prayer is that you’ll feel a sense of joy that comes from spending time in communion with God and then with others as you live out the “practices” you’ll be invited to each week. If your participation ever feels burdensome, then take a break! The Neuma Project exists to assist in your discipleship - both individually and communally with others at FPC, and in your neighborhoods. It doesn’t exist to guilt you into time spent in the word and community. (though if you need a little push, we’re fine to allow this to do that)
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Our vision is that this will be something your family can do together. We will always include a “Neuma Kids” section that you can do with your littles.
We also believe teenage kids can participate in all of the content as well as adults, bringing their own insights and questions. HOWEVER, we are well aware teens + parents + faith conversations can be tricky. For this reason, during Act II on Sunday mornings teens will have the chance to engage this content with each other and their leaders. If all you are able to ‘accomplish’ is a check-in with them on Sunday afternoons, consider it a win! If you are able to sit down and go through the materials together, then you deserve an award and come teach us your ways :)
Start By Stopping
(If you aren’t in a place where you can do that, set a reminder to come back. But please don’t try to cram this in while getting kids ready for school, or replying to emails, or watching Netflix)Don’t talk, don’t move, don’t do anything except breathe. Look around, listen, smell… and be still until it’s uncomfortable. Say a prayer- no agenda, just whatever you want to say directed toward God. If praying isn’t something you do often- give it a shot. Just talk/think/share. In fact, we encourage you to pray aloud! It might feel odd at first, but again, there’s no pressure to do it “correctly.” Just fill God in on your heart & enjoy the quiet.
Carol Williams
Storytelling
Galatians 5 says that one of the Fruits of the Spirit is PATIENCE. Have you prayed for a LONG time for something very important to you? Me too! As you prayed day after day, how long did your patience last? A week, a month, a year(s)? A week ago while visiting with a friend, I shared a personal story of a time when I no longer had patience with my prayer request.
My husband and I were young parents of preschoolers when we moved to Spokane. Shortly after arriving, I met Jane Reed, a young mother of three young children slightly older than ours. We were in a women’s group. In one of our early conversations she shared a prayer practice which resonated with me. Jane’s prayer for each of her children was that they would be nurtured in the faith and prepared to be a spouse someday to someone who was also being nurtured in the faith. From that moment on, through all Carey and Stephanie’s growing up years, that has been my heart prayer.
The prayer was answered for our daughter when she married in 2007.
I continued praying for our son. I entrusted my prayer request with friends. Time kept passing and our son continued to mature and live life fully, but the prayers for a beloved spouse weren’t being answered. I remember saying, “It’s me, God. I’m still waiting and trusting you to answer my prayer.” My patience wavered and I was often heard saying, “God’s timing is perfect, BUT, it is slow!” It was a cute thing to say and brought chuckles and nods. But still no answer. During COVID, I had an AH-HA moment when I realized I was being disrespectful of God. I was convicted, so I apologized to God. From then on, I chose to say, “God’s timing is PERFECT,” period. No ifs, ands, or buts. GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT.
As I settled into this truth, a peace came to my spirit. Time spent in prayer became more intimate as I sensed God knowing the change in my heart. My desire was to fully trust his promise. I went from trying to remind and orchestrate to total trust. This shift has impacted every area of my life. Your will, Lord God.
Forty-five years of learning patience, and now I see my prayer is being answered in ways I never dreamed. We’re saving a date in May for a long awaited wedding.
It’s true. GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT.
Thank you God, for your patience with me and for giving us all the Spirit’s gift of PATIENCE.
RESPONDING TO SCRIPTURE
“The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,
not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
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The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. Psalm 145:8
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Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Psalm 37:7
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“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Romans 12:12
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"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1
Settle in and get quiet. Take a few deep breaths. Ask the Spirit to illuminate the scriptures for you.
After you’ve slowed yourself down with silence and breath, read the scripture again.
Then slowly work through the prompts below.
Use your neuma journal to write down what comes to your heart and mind.
In this scripture study, we will focus on God’s patience. We will use the other scriptures in our practice of patience.
We often think of patience as something that we to work on and practice with one another. At times, we even feel as though our patience is challenged as we wait on God. 2 Peter tells us that many times it is actually God who is being patient with us. How does thinking about God being patient with you shift your understanding of the fruit of patience?
The Message version of the Bible phrases 2 Peter 2:9 this way:
“With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.” What might God be giving you time and space to change?In Psalm 145 and other times throughout the Old Testament God is described as SLOW to ANGER. This is a way of describing God’s patience. What do you think it means that God is slow to anger? Where have you seen that in your own life?
Watch the video below to learn more about God’s patient “slow to anger “nature and what it means in scripture.We will spend time with the other scriptures (Psalms and Romans) in our practice this month. Spend a few minutes reading through them now. Then rewrite them in your own words.
NEUMA KIDS
Have you ever had to do something that took a really long time?
Maybe you…
went on a road trip with your family…
or built a LEGO set…
or cooked something yummy…
or learned to play an instrument…
or read a book.
Most things we do in life require patience. Just look at that list above.
Road trips take lots of hours to get to your destination.
LEGO sets have lots of steps you have to pay attention to.
Cooking requires lots of chopping, mincing, pre-heating, cook time, and cooling down.
Learning an instrument takes practice and dedication.
Reading a book means you have to read each word.
Even though things in life take patience, the end result is so worthwhile!
For example, take a look at the soap sculptures in the pictures above. Who would have thought there is so much beauty within a bar of soap!?! But when you take the time to be patient and chip away carefully, something beautiful can be waiting underneath. Patience means more than just waiting. It’s also about choosing what’s important and sticking to it.
Using these soap sculptures as our example, you have to get rid of some things in order to find that beauty underneath. It can be a slow process but one that is important to keep in front of us.
Leaning into patience helps us keep focused on where we’re going or what our goal is and learning more about what we don’t need.
We invite you to think about this by making your own soap sculptures.
The video below will take you step by step through the process.
Supplies needed: a bar of soap, a plastic knife, a pencil, paper and a paper clip
Making Soap Sculptures
Maybe you all want to try your own or work on one together as a family unit. However you choose to engage, think about what it is you’d like to make, and as you chip away patiently, use that as a reminder of how we can learn to lean into patience in our lives.
PRACTICE: PATIENCE
Each month during The Neuma Project you will be invited to try an experiment. Some of the experiments will be really simple, while others will stretch you out of your comfort zone. Just like an experiment at school, we want you to try them all. There’s no judgment if it doesn’t work, and since we’re all learning together, no one is an expert!
Breath Prayer
Folks are often nervous to pray for patience for fear God will give us “opportunities” to practice and develop patience rather than just wave a wand and make us patient (without the annoying practice). In light of that, we are guessing there will be times in your week when you feel impatient…no need to go out and find new experiences. This practice is for those moments…
Breath prayer is a way to practice abiding with Jesus dating as far back as the sixth century. As the name suggests, this simple practice focuses on saying a short quiet prayer (in your head or aloud) - in a single breath - to help fix your mind on God.
Repeat the same prayer a number of times until your mind is at rest, you are calmer, and grounded in the presence of God and His Word. This prayer method can be used any where, any time throughout the day as you need.
Breath prayer is both spiritual and practical. Spiritually, it provides a way to meditate on scripture, pray throughout your day, and increase your awareness of and reliance on the Spirit. At the same time, practically, it can help regulate your breathing, body, and emotions which can help lower reactiveness, tension and anxiety, and increase your patience!
This month, when (not if!) you experience moments of impatience— in traffic, in line at a store, with your family, or in the bigger picture things as you wait for God’s movement in your life or the world—practice breath prayer. This will help you return to God’s truth and to focus on the Spirit’s gift of patience. Use a portion from one of the scriptures from the scripture study as your breath prayer.
Here are some examples of breath prayer using the scriptures from our study:
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Sample 1 from Psalm 37:7
Breath in:
“Be still before the Lord.”
Breath out:
“And wait patiently for Him.”
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Sample 2 from Romans 12:12
Breath in:
“Rejoice in hope.”
Breath out:
“Be patient in suffering.”
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Sample 3 from 2 Peter3:9
Breath in:
“The Lord is not slow about His Promise.”
Breath out:
“But is patient with you.”
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Sample 4 from Psalm 40
Breath in:
“I waited patiently for the Lord.”
Breath out:
“He inclined to me and heard my cry.”
Songs for Reflection
Please use these songs to supplement your time this week. Listen as you pray or as you drive to work. Listen as you respond to the reflection prompts or as you do homework. Listen as you get ready for bed at night or don’t listen at all!