Pastor's Page

"Flexibility - Avoid the Frustration"

Do you get frustrated when people let you down? I'm not talking about major disappointments, because often it's the small matters that seem to get the best of us. For example, someone agrees to meet you at a certain time, and they don't quite make it. They're late. Or someone promises to deliver a project at a certain time, and they don't get it done. You've held up your end of the bargain, but your friend fails to do what he or she was supposed to.

At the heart of your frustration is a certain lack of flexibility. Flexibility is nothing more than adjusting to others and for the good of a group. It's allowing for variation and movement. Being flexible involves an element of compromise. It means you won't always get your way and other people won't always adjust and follow your schedule.

At Gladeville UMC we are experiencing changes which calls for us to be flexible, with construction taking place in the midst of our ever busy activities. This calls for all of us to be flexible and, yes, sometimes sacrificing our own wishes. Paul, the apostle, in his letter to the church at Corinth, says it this way, "nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." And again in Philippians 2:4, "each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Thank you for being flexible. Thank you for giving instead of getting. Thank you for going with the flow and not swimming against the current. The adjustment and compromises will be duly noted by the Lord. The end result will be worth the present frustrations.

Blessings,

Bro Chuck