Bundles

I recently read Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas.  He makes a point about trials coming in "bundles," many problems happening all at once.  I liked what he said so much that I wanted to share a few paragraphs here.  I've often noticed that when it rains it pours, but I've never thought of it the way he explains it before.

We have only one way to become mature and complete in God:  We must develop the difficult but crucial discipline of perseverance.  Jesus said that only through perseverance do we bear fruit:  "The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." (Luke 8:15)


Paul says that character grows out of learning to persevere through many trials (Romans 5:3-4).  James tells us that we should consider it "pure joy" when we "face trials of many kinds (that is, bundles), because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  (James 1:2-4).  Without perseverance, James tells us, we remain immature and incomplete, half-baked Christians, if you will. . . .


There's only one way to develop perseverance:  We have to surrender to God as we feel pushed past the human breaking point.  We have to reach the threshold of exhaustion, [been there done that], and then get pushed even further [been there too].  One trial can help us deal with fear.  Two trials can lead to wisdom.  But perseverance? That takes a bundle of difficulties.  All of which means that parenting extremely demanding children feeds a spiritual need in our soul--to participate in the crucial discipline of perseverance on which our fruitfulness as believers depends.