Entanglements

“All things are difficult before they become easy.” ~Saadi, one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. (1184-1291)

The door slammed shut behind me as I exited. The small hydraulic door closer at the top of the door had lost its effectiveness long ago. My office was located at the opposite end of the property from the school office. To get there I had to traverse the length of the church parking lot which served as the school playground.

As I turned to begin my trek across the expanse of asphalt, I was confronted by a playground melee. A group of five students from the after-school program, had retrieved the pile of jump ropes from their box. In the process of trying to separate them, a multi-directional tug-of-war had ensued. Each of five students had grabbed one end of a jump rope and begun to pull on it. Rather than separating the ropes, their short-cut approach caused a rat’s nest of tangled jump ropes to form in the center.

The children shouted and tugged at their respective ends of the rope with gusto. But the more they pulled, the tighter the “nest” became.

“Stop! Stop pulling,” I barked, arriving on the scene. Immediately a cacophony of finger-pointing ensued. “Stop pulling and let me untangle this mess,” I responded. Kneeling down on the rough surface, I began the arduous task of tracing the course of each jump rope through the gigantic knot. Fortunately some were a different color, but not all.

Slowly I began to unravel the mess, but just as it seemed I was making headway, one of the children would become impatient and give a sharp tug on their rope cinching the knot up tight again. Patiently, I reassured them that I would get the ropes untangled, but they had to trust me and not pull on the ropes.

Eventually, one at a time, I was able to start extricating individual ropes. Each time I did so, a happy child would run off with the rope shouting, “Thanks, Deacon Jim!” And each time, because there was one less rope to manage, the process became easier and moved along more quickly. But this also meant reassuring the remaining children that their turn was coming.

Finally, the last two ropes were separated. As two happy children ran off yelling, “Thanks, Deacon Jim,” I stood and watched them go.

A sense of satisfaction came over me, which was quickly followed by a moment of confusion. Why was I going to the school office? I couldn’t remember. It must have been important. Finally, I turned and returned to my own office shaking my head.

 Perhaps God had once again put me where he needed me, I thought. 

Our culture is constantly in search of instant gratification. Internet providers and technology developers constantly promise faster response times and greater capacity. Advertising agencies encourage us to “Live for Now.” Everything must happen instantly.

Unfortunately, having an “I need it all and I need it now” attitude doesn’t work very well when there are problems to be solved, whether they are complex or as simple as untangling some jump ropes. All have to give a little, wait their turn, and realize some may have to wait longer than others.

Whether we are negotiating peace between two countries or waiting in line to fill up at a crowded gas station, force and aggression create more problems than they solve.

As Christian stewards, we are often called to model patience. Taking a step back when everyone else is trying to go first can sometimes tweak our egos. But ultimately we know we have contributed to a better more equitable result.

The gratification of doing the right thing and seeing a good result is much more lasting. One reason it’s called “instant” gratification may be that that’s how long it lasts.

Dear God: Remind me that the key to everything is patience.

“You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” ~Arnold H. Glasow, American Humorist (1905-1998)

©2013 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

“90 Second Stewardship” is a reflection on being a Christian Steward in a secular and sometimes harsh world. This reflection is written by Deacon James E. Carper, Director of Marketing and Development at Holy Name of Jesus School in south/central Los Angeles. All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2013 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2013 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message. Questions or comments may be directed to Jim Carper by return e-mail or at the contact information found below.

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