Lessons Learned

As you all know, these past 30 weeks have been very difficult.  I feel like I am on a constant roller coaster of emotions.  Even within one day, everything can be so up and down.  I feel like I never know what is coming up next in this soap opera of a story.  Sometimes my mind swirls with so many different thoughts.  Way too often I jump to worst-case scenario.  I like to plan.  I like to know how things are going to pan out.  So, I'm continually trying to figure this all out- good or bad.  But I've found that way too often this just leaves me riddled with fear.  I've said so many times that I could endure this all if I just knew how it was all going to end or when it would end.  However, God keeps reminding me that is now how He operates.  We don't get to know the future, we just have to trust in the One who does.  Man, that is a hard lesson for me to learn.

I've been searching scripture a lot and I keep finding the promises of God.  God loves me.  He loves Mercy.  He loves Cody, Emma and Avery.  God has a plan.  God is faithful.  God is good.  God is merciful, forgiving, patient, and just.  So many reminders throughout scripture of the greatness of our God.  The Lord does not want me covered up in fear.  So when I feel it creeping up, I pray and beg him to take it from me.  When I start to drive myself crazy with plotting and planning, I remind myself that we aren't working in my timetable.  Some days I am much better at this than others.

I had another perfectly timed reading in "Jesus Calling" the other day.  I worry about how Emma and Avery are handling everything. I fear that life will become way too normal without me. I worry about Cody taking care of everything that he does. I fear for Mercy and her future. I worry about how long I will be here. And then I read, "This is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control. In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in my Presence, where you are complete....As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession in my care." Wow. The past few months, I've learned to live without a lot of possessions. And I'm ok with that. But releasing my most prized possessions (Emma, Avery, Mercy, and Cody)... that is a different story. Releasing my control. Oh boy, that's one I'm working on daily. God loves my family more than I do. He cares about our futures. He wants to use us to glorify Him. If I really believe that then I can release my fear and worry and rest in Him.


I'm sure some of you think that I am pretty crazy at this point.  When I took my first mission trip to Uganda and left my girls for 2.5 weeks I had people question how a mother/wife could leave her family for so long.  So, I can only wonder what those people are thinking now. I don't know exactly how to explain all of this. .  I don't like it.  I miss Cody, Emma, and Avery like crazy.  I question my sanity regularly.  At times I get bitter, angry, sad, frustrated, but I feel confident that right now I am doing what God wants me to do.  Mercy is worth the fight, the pain, and the heartache.  She is a part of our family.  A sweet friend that was in Uganda a few months ago sent me an email yesterday.  She said that many people don't understand adoption.  They don't understand how I can love Mercy like I love my biological children.  They don't understand why I would put my family through all of this.  But she said that if people could see firsthand, me and Mercy together they would know.  "I have seen that child in your arms. I have seen her smile only for you and cling to you and turn to you for protection and reassurance. I have seen her love you because you are her mommy. She is yours and you are hers."  I love this and it makes me teary-eyed to read it.  This is why I am here... even when it seems insane.

Life in Pictures

Just a few random pictures from our time with Cody...



Mercy in the Middle!

We stopped briefly at the equator on our way back from Lake Mburo.

They are adorable.  Love this!



My big cheesy face over Cody's surprise birthday cake from Harriett!



Cody's cheesy face while eating the cake.  It was yummy!

One of my favorite moments of the visit... When Harriett asked me how I married a man that I looked so much alike?"  I said, "Really, you think we look like the same?"  She said, "Yes it's the noses."  Hmmm...  Africans are not so good at telling mzungus apart. ;)



Me singing with the kids

Last weekend we got to visit my friend Kathy's orphanage, Redeemer House.  They recently moved to a new location near Jinja.  Such a great place!  On Saturdays they have "Bible Club" for the neighborhood kids.  They asked the visitors to say a word, so I got to share for a minute and then sing "Making Melodies" with them.  It made me miss my "Libraries of Love" friends. I hope you all have the song stuck in your heads now. ha!!


YUMMY!

And this is not from Cody's visit, but in his honor.  Cinnamon rolls are one of his favorite things in life.  I don't want you all to think that I'm totally suffering and starving over here.  Harriett made homemade cinnamon rolls.  Oh my word, they were delicious!!

Mercy Monday and Mangoes

It’s sort of funny to me how it also seems to work out that we need extra prayer on Mondays. So, I’m asking again for another “Mercy Monday”. There are a couple of potentially big things happening tomorrow. Pray for these meetings to happen. Pray for hearts to be softened and for the best interests of Mercy to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. And as Cody prepares to go home on Tuesday, pray for our hearts as we, yet again, prepare for separation. Remember that our morning activities start around midnight CST, so please start praying for us as you go to bed tonight.

And a random bizarre fact for you… the skin of mangoes contains the same type of oil as poison oak and poison ivy and can cause an allergic reaction in some people. How do I know this? Let’s just say I ate a lot of mango this week and now my mouth is paying for it.

A Simple Request

This is a post to give a brief synopsis of our adoption story.  A sweet lady and fellow pastor's wife who has an amazing blog A Place Called Simplicity is taking prayer requests for adoption situations.  Thousands of people read her blog each day and commit to pray for people.  I got to meet one of this lady's precious daughters, Abi,  while she and her husband were here adopting a baby last fall.  Abi even sent me an awesome care package last month with books for Mercy, magazines, CD's, and snacks.  Love her!! 

Anyway, on to our synopsis... I met a sweet 3 week old baby girl in Uganda in June of 2009 while here on a mission trip.  Shortly after, my husband I started pursuing adoption of her.  In August of 2010 I came back to Uganda to go to court for the adoption.  In September 2010 we were granted an adoption.  Unfortunately because of some discrepencies in the documentation I have not been able to get Mercy a visa.  I have now been in Uganda 29 weeks (- 2.5 weeks for Christmas).  The last 21 weeks I have been trying to get the discrepencies resolved within the Ugandan court system to no avail.  My sweet husband has been home taking care of our two other daughters and managing life at home.  By miraculous events, my husband has been in Uganda with me for the last week and a half for a visit.  We keep hitting roadblock after roadblock, but we love this child with all of our hearts.  She has no one else willing to care for her and we are willing to do whatever it takes to get her home with us.  Please pray for us to find a way to resolution and for Mercy to be issued a visa as soon as possible.  As you can well imagine, this has been draining on the whole family.  But God is good and continues to use this time for good.  We trust Him and His timing and He is the reason we've been able to endure this trial so far.  Thank you for your prayers and I hope you'll look back through my blog to see the many ways we've seen God at work on this "Road to Mercy".

Be sure to check out A Place Called Simplicity for more families in the adoption process that need prayer.

More Weekend Moments by Melissa

On Friday, Ellen, Mercy and I stayed through morning tea and the introductions.  My favorite part was the children, most of whom were orphans, singing and dancing as a welcome to the visitors.  Mercy loved watching the children and danced right along with them.    Most of the people were not sure what to think of this African baby with the mzungu parents.  They watched our every move.  At one point as we were waiting for the meeting to start Ellen and I were chatting with Pastor Fred.  This was his first time to meet Ellen, who is usually referred to as “Mama Ellen”.  He told Ellen that he was so glad to finally meet “Mama” and that he hoped her breasts were ready.  Ellen and I both looked at each other to make sure we heard him correctly.  He said, “The people will be so excited to meet Mama, you’ll have to breastfeed them all.”  Oh my!!  Then during the introductions he mentioned this again in front of everyone.  He said “Mama, see all of these children.  They are all ready for you to breastfeed them now.”  It was so funny and so hard for me to not laugh out loud.  I’m sure it was his metaphor for mothering and loving on the people, but to this American woman, it was just hilarious.

Mercy and Jaa Jaa



Children welcoming us



Herb's group handshake

After introductions, Herb took us ladies to our hotel in a nearby town. We knew Mercy would not last long during the teaching. The hotel was a great place with a huge yard in the front. Mercy and I took a nap, then we hung outside the rest of the time. There were about 6 chickens running around the yard, so Mercy chased them around and looked for anyone who would bring her near them. A couple of hours later, a man came and rounded up the chickens and then we heard some major squawking and we had to tell Mercy that the chickens went “bye-bye”. They did make for a tasty dinner. The hotel also had music playing in the front, so she drug me and Ellen both up there numerous times to dance. She’d stand and motion to you to “come” and then as we got to the music she would point and say “dance”. She was getting down with it. She got so low a few times that she fell all the way down. The hotel staff was quite entertained with her and often gathered around to watch.

Before leaving for the hotel, Cody asked me if I needed any extra diapers from the trunk he had. I told him that we would be fine with the ones I had in my bad. I was wrong. About 4 o’ clock I changed a messy diaper and realized that was the last one. Hmmm, what was I going to do. I couldn’t let her run around naked, even though that’s what they would do in the village. I didn’t want her to get it on her clothes as we only had a few outfits packed. Then it hit me, I’d have to make my own somehow. With limited supplies on-hand, I took a plastic bag that is supposed to be for dirty diapers and made two leg holes in it. I stuffed a bunch of toilet paper inside of it and then cinched it up around her waist and put a pair of pajama shorts over the top. I was pretty proud of myself. Ellen and I got a good laugh out of it, but I realized it probably wouldn’t last until the guys got back, so I finally, got on a boda and prayed that the local market would have some diapers, and thankfully they did. The best part, her diaper stayed totally dry until Cody got back. Ha!!


I'm a genius... ha!!

The next morning we got up early and drove the rest of the way to Lake Mburo National Park.  We went on a couple of game drives and saw many animals.  We saw lots of different types of antelope, including Impala.  We also saw hippos, water buffalo, warthogs, zebras, bush and water buck, monkeys, baboons, and many birds.  We even saw a dead zebra that we think was half-eaten by a lion.  That certainly makes you realize you are seeing the real deal and not at a Disney Wildlife Adventure.  We had a picnic lunch out on the savannah, while a water buffalo stared at us through the whole meal.  Then after lunch, Cody, Mercy and I went on a boat ride around the lake.  We had a great time and Mercy serenaded us with “Baby Jesus” the whole way.  We even got to see a baby hippo lying on its mother’s back.  Mama was all the way under the water, so it was so cute to see the little one just perched on top.  As we got off the boat, we realized that Herb was nowhere to be found.  He was our ride back to the camping/banda area where we were staying.  I tried to call him, but there was no service.  Cody and I decided we’d just walk.  We knew it wasn’t very far.  Yeah, we were wrong.  About 30 minutes later we got to the campsite.  On the way, we passed some wildlife.  Then we read a sign that said because of the wildlife you should only walk through the park with an armed guard.  Oops!!



The long walk back!



Sunset at Mburo

The next morning we had one last game drive as we left the park.  Then we headed back to the village to pick up Abdul and Pastor Fred.  When we went to get Pastor Fred he asked if he could bring a few things back with him for his house in Kampala.  Herb agreed.  That was before we realized how much stuff it was.  Oh my!    The heavy load could have been part of the reason why we ended up with car problems and we had to stop 4 times for a leaking radiator hose.  Got to love Africa!  We did get to stop briefly at the equator for a couple of photos. 

During the long (11 hour) ride, Mercy did remarkably well.  Somehow, Cody worked it so he always got to hold her while she was sleeping and I got the job while she was awake and wild, but it worked.  The only major incident was when she got a bit annoyed and threw one of her books out the window into traffic.  Herb asked if we needed to stop and get it, I said no way!  We definitely got our money’s worth from that $1 book from Target.     We finally made it home, washed lots of red dirt off our bodies and our hair and crashed for the night.  It was a great trip.  Cody was blessed to get the chance to teach, we all enjoyed the wildlife and God’s creations, and certainly enjoyed the company.

Teaching the Teacher.. a Cody post



Daddy and Mercy



It has been a full week. My reintroduction to Mercy has been great. Dad is a little more terrifying in real life than he is on the computer screen. However, she has quickly warmed to me and we’re good buddies. She is so much bigger than when I last saw her in early October. She took her first steps the day I left last October. Now she is all over. She has grown so much also. Much taller and much heavier. It won’t be long until she is the one carrying Melissa in the sling. She understands English perfectly (and selectively), and even speaks it every now and then. She has so many words, and can say anything you want her to, as long as the mood is right. She is still as much of a clown as ever. She loves to play and laugh and tease. She is personality plus…no fear of strangers, and she makes friends everywhere she goes. Mercy is also crazy about Melissa’s hosts, Herb and Ellen. She calls Herb ‘papa’ and Ellen ‘ja ja.’ She is never lacking for an audience. It is so good to be with her.
  Friday we left at 5am for a village called Kyzonga (sounds like Chizanga). We were accompanied by Herb and Ellen, our friend Abdul, as well as Pastor Fred. Fred has helped start four churches in towns around Kyzonga, and is connected to several pastors in the area. He had put out the word that we were coming. Once in the village we turned off the main road and drove up a rough dirt road into the hills beyond the village. We drove past many people pushing their bicycles towards the main road, loaded down either with giant bushels of bananas or jerry-cans full of water. We passed several clusters of homes, each with children in front. Without fail, as we passed the children would yell, “A muzungu!” Smiling, laughing, waving, and of course we waved and smiled back.



We finally arrived at Pastor Benjamin’s property, which is where the church is located. Mud house and mud church are separated by only a few feet...wide enough for people and chickens to pass through. Pastor Benjamin had been working hard all morning, as he does every morning. He was wearing his work clothes and a large brimmed hat and greeted us vigorously. Several children eyed us cautiously, but welcomed a hand shake, and smiled when we greeted them in their language. It was thirty minutes past our planned start time and there was one man standing outside the church by his bicycle, and one elderly woman in her Sunday best. Fred told us it would be a small crowd, but they would be arriving soon. The size of the crowd was of no concern to any of us.


By western standards none of us would recognize the building as a church. It is a small mud structure with sheet metal for the roof. The mud building is surrounded by a partially completed brick structure. Progress is measured by the rows of bricks. Herb noted that there were two more rows this time than his last visit in October. Inside, earthen floor is distinguished from earthen walls only by a layer of grass strewn on the dirt like the finest carpet. The pulpit is on a ‘stage’ which is nothing more than a raised mud platform. The wall behind the stage is covered by a large white sheet. The seating is a series of handmade wooden benches. The instruments for worship were three traditional drums, much clapping, and beautiful voices. There is, of course, no electricity. However, there was one detail that would be familiar to most of us. On the cross beam, which runs across the room, just in front of the pulpit, is a clock. Apparently being a village pastor does not exempt one from careful time management.


We were shown wonderful hospitality by Pastor Benjamin and his wife. We were taken into their home for tea time; fruit, hard boiled eggs, and African milk tea. It was a gracious meal. When we went back out to the church the room had filled with people. Pastor Benjamin was in his suit, as were the others. There were about seven pastors who came, some with their wives, and some with others from their church. At our peak we had 100 people crammed in this little room. I was conscious throughout that they had all given up a day of valuable work to come and learn about the Old Testament.

Cody preparing to teach



The beginning crowd

Pastor Fred translated effortlessly. I brought with me simple workbooks and pens for everyone, as they have few if any resources. Due to the language difference the workbooks were not of primary importance, but will be used in the days ahead. As I taught, the temperature in the room began to rise. With my head closer to the metal roof than anyone else I was only affected slightly more than the men in their suits, and the women in their dresses. In case you ever teach in the village, you need to be aware that the mothers have different ideas of decency when it comes to breastfeeding their children. At first it can be alarming, but you can keep your eyes on your notes until junior is finished.


After two hours we stopped for lunch. It is amazing to me that they were able to feed everyone. Lunch was rice and beans for the general population, but some different foods for the pastors and their company. We had matoke in ground-nut sauce, posho, greens, cassava, pork stew, and a version of eggplant that looks like peas, only bitter beyond comprehension. To drink we had water which someone had collected that morning from the bore-hole. It was boiled then spiced with ginger to give it a better taste. I ate and drank with gratefulness.


One pastor and his group had to leave after lunch in order to begin their walk home…ten miles. They walked ten miles that morning, sat through two hours of teaching, an hour for lunch, then another ten miles to get home. We noticed that out of this church full of people there were only four bicycles outside. Everyone else walked.

A couple of the pastors' bicycles

I taught for another hour after lunch…temperature rising…people still arriving…eyes focused on Fred…pens scribbling furiously…and multiple outbursts of loud praise at the goodness of the Word. It was a remarkable privilege to have been taught by our brothers and sisters that day.

More Hurdles

The judge says we have a few more things to complete before he will move forward.  We are searching for the best ways to get this done.  Praying for wisdom and resolution.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  We love you all.

Call to Prayer

Tomorrow at 12:00pm (4am CST) we have a court hearing scheduled. I have no idea what will happen. I won’t lie, I am scared. I have had too many crazy things happen at this point to really go in believing that this will be “it”. I am grateful that Cody will be with me through it all. Such a blessing! We are praying for major movement tomorrow. We are praying that the judge will hear our case, see us in a favorable light, that the truth will speak for itself, and that he will decide to give us a ruling. Best case scenario he would schedule a hearing for the ruling within the next week. We know that God can do anything and we pray that He will really show off and do some big things tomorrow. We also pray for our hearts to be at peace no matter the outcome and for God to be glorified in our story and in our actions. God is in control and He does have perfect timing. Will you join us in prayer? Will you ask those around you to also join us in prayer? Feel free to share this request with anyone (facebook, blog, email, etc.). I promise to update you all as soon as I can tomorrow.

Fun with Cody

We are having a great time with Cody. Tomorrow morning, very early, we leave for the village where Cody will be teaching all day. So, if you think of it as you get ready for bed, say a prayer for us (especially Cody). Pray for travelling safety, for Cody as he teaches and for the people to understand what he is teaching.

We won't have internet access the next few days, so don't expect any updates from us until Sunday or Monday.
Here are a couple of quick pics...


Can you see how thrilled Mercy was to see Cody?



Sweet girl!

And last chance on Love Mercy t-shirts.  I will hold off and place the order on Monday since I won't be back online until Sunday.  So email me at melissabusby@hotmail.com if you want one.

Quick Update

Cody arrived safe and sound last night. So glad my dream of him being stranded in Brussels was just that. We had a great day together today. Mercy took a few minutes to warm up to him, but he won her over with some craisins and now they're good friends again. I promise to write more tomorrow and add a few pictures.

Random Udpates

Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA this past week.  The power was out for several days, so I wasn’t able to be online much.    Nothing like no electricity for a few days to make you really appreciate the finer things in life like hot showers, fans, computers, and refrigeration.  Hard to imagine how many people in Uganda and all over the world live every single day without power. 

Cody flies out this afternoon.  He’ll have about 24 hours of travel time, so he’ll arrive in Uganda late tomorrow night.  He has some pretty quick connections times, so pray that all goes smoothly.  I dreamed last night that he missed his flight in Brussels and was stranded there for a few days.  Oh, I sure hope not!!  As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited to see him.

Later this week, Cody gets the chance to teach some local church leaders in a village several hours outside Kampala.  Cody is really looking forward to it.  He’s hoping to be able to complete a survey of the Old Testament.  These leaders have little, if any, formal training on the Bible.  Cody is really hoping he can make it through all of the material and that they will understand it all.  After he teaches we’ll then spend a day or so sight-seeing at Lake Mburo National Park.  We’ll be enjoying some “rustic” conditions, which always make for some good laughs.  Should be fun!

Mercy is learning so many new things each day.  Her language is exploding and it is so fun to watch.  The other day we walked just down the road to a little market.  On the way back, a motorcycle passed us.  She said, “boda boda”.   She said it so clearly it made me and the boda driver laugh.  Another new favorite is telling me to “come”.  She will stand there motioning for me and saying “come” over and over until I get up and see what she wants.   And then she has full conversations in what we call “Mercy language”.  She is so serious and she gets so upset when we don’t have a clue what she is talking about.  She is also getting very good at climbing things and going up stairs.  Let me tell you, this girl gets into everything.  Watching her is really a 24 hour job.  When you aren’t looking she will reprogram your phone, put on makeup, tear apart tea bags, climb up the stairs, pour water on the floor, and cover herself in body wash… just to name a few.

Here’s a good Mercy and “Lo Lo” story for you.  The other night, Lawrence, Mercy and I met some people at a very nice Italian restaurant for dinner.  The place had glass everything and white tablecloths.  So we were having a hard time containing Mercy while we were waiting for our food.  Lawrence decided to walk Mercy around for a bit while we waited.  They came back in a few minutes and Mercy was holding a cookie.  Lawrence then told me that they went to the kitchen.  He said that Mercy told him to “come” and led the way like she knew where she was going, so off they went into the kitchen.  I told him, “Lawrence, you can’t do that.”  He said, “It’s ok, they all really liked Mercy.  The cooks all held her and then they gave her the cookie.”  Oh my!  Pretty sure we should never go back there again.

I must brag on my skills and tell you that I successfully removed Mercy’s yarn braids by myself.  Ok, it’s really not that hard, but I was still proud.  All you do is cut them past where her real hair is and then untwist.  This is what it looked like afterwards. 

It’s amazing to me how much her hair is grown.  It’s hard to tell normally because it is so curly that after you wash it the hair shrinks right back up into kinks.  She’s going au natural right now and I think it’s very cute.   

She did not really want to cooperate with photos!

Another funny for you… this morning I was trying to pick out Mercy’s hair.  I was going to apply some coconut oil.  I could not get it to come out, so I squeezed the bottle a bit harder and coconut oil spewed out everywhere!  Thank goodness we were on the porch and not inside, and now Mercy and I smell very tropical.

Good news on Mama Kits.  I’ve had a couple of people contact me recently that want to raise money to buy more kits.  One woman is trying to raise enough money to buy 300 more.  Very exciting!  This afternoon I get to deliver 50 kits to another crisis pregnancy center that works with teenage mothers.  And I’m hearing good reports that the kits are making a difference.  A mission team that stayed here with us a couple of weeks ago, visited the home where we first delivered the kits.  Without knowing that the team knew me, the director told them what a blessing the kits had been.  Also, one of the missionaries that I gave kits to told me that she passed all of hers out and wants more because they’ve been so helpful to the mothers she’s ministering to.  I have leads on two more ministries that might be able to use Mama Kits.  I hope to follow up on those in the next couple of weeks. It’s so exciting to see your donations in action and making a difference in the lives of the women and babies of Uganda.

 Don’t forget to get your t-shirt orders to me by Thursday.  Thanks!!

Progress and T-shirts

We made several steps toward progress for our case today. I got an important paper that I needed and I was afraid I would not be able to get. A meeting was arranged for tomorrow, which has been put off for a long time. And… we got a court date! The hearing is scheduled for March 15th. I’m so glad Cody will be able to go to the hearing with me. This will actually be his first time in court, as his first trip was after our ruling. Please start to pray now for this hearing. Pray for all of the things that need to be done before then to be completed. Pray for softened hearts, wisdom for all parties, and we are praying for a miracle that somehow we could all travel home together on the 22nd. 

And back by popular demand... Love Mercy T-shirts!  I have at least one friend that needs a couple more shirts.  This sweet friend who lives in another state ordered shirts in November.  Cody mailed them to her in early December.  I just found out yesterday that she never received them, but she did see her neighbor wearing one out in the yard.  My friend asked her if she knew me, and the the woman started acting funny about it and said her friend gave her the shirt.  Oh, how I love that apparently this woman stole my friend's package and is now walking around wearing a shirt that says, "act justly, love Mercy, and walk humbly".  I don't know why, but this strikes me as so funny! 

The design on the shirt symbolizes how a relationship with Christ changes our hearts on the inside (white arrows) and therefore, changes our outward actions toward others (black arrows). The words come from the verse God gave me for this adoption, Micah 6:8,”This is what the Lord requires of you, that you act justly, love Mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”


I'm taking shirt orders until March 10th.  The shirts are $15 ($16 for XXL and XXXL). They are available from Youth XS (2-4) - Adult XXXL and are a 50/50 blend. Payments can be made through PayPal or by sending me a personal check. I will email you payment info after receiving your order.  Feel free to spread the word to your friends and family.  Just have them email their order to me at melissabusby@hotmail.com and put "Love Mercy Shirt" in the subject line.

More than just surviving (a Cody post)

WARNING: This is a tad long, so feel free to take it in bite-size chunks!

            I have thought of perseverance in the past as little more than just survival. I have persevered in different types of situations; the night before a paper is due; or on pull-up day in 7^th grade gym class; or when hit by the urgent need to use the bathroom with thirty minutes left on the drive home. However, my understanding of perseverance has been challenged as of late. So I recently spent a night looking up the many uses of the word in the Bible in the hopes that I can persevere better.

            I was surprised to find that the word is only found in the New Testament. There are certainly Old Testament equivalents, but the actual English word is only found in the NT. Now the word is used largely in two ways. First, perseverance refers to clinging to Christ and his salvation through the entirety of one’s life. Second, perseverance is used in reference to outlasting persecution in the name of Christ. So I acknowledge up front that the perseverance I am experiencing does not relate specifically to persecution, or salvation per se. Still, a glimpse at some of the ways the word is used might be illuminating for you, as it has been for me.

Luke 8:15 But 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.

            So landing in good soil doesn’t come without its struggles. Otherwise, why would this seed need to persevere? The seed in good soil still faces challenges. The good soil doesn’t keep the seed from difficulties, but enables the seed to live beyond them. I have often thought that good soil was that place where I was immune from problems. Not so. The good soil is God’s Word, which enables us to persevere through our trials.

            Not only does God's Word help us to persevere in trials, but it also helps us to produce a crop in them. How crazy is that? Most of my persevering has been done in the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth! However, perseverance is a time when the word of God nourishes us in the midst of trials, and yields a crop a hundred times more than was sown. Oh, to bear fruit in perseverance. So far I’m only seeing raisins; and little ones at that.

Romans 5:3-5 …but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

            Suffering produces perseverance. What if it didn’t? What if I chose not to allow the suffering in my life to produce perseverance? According to Paul’s logic, without perseverance I have no character; without character there is no hope; and without hope there is unceasing disappointment. So perseverance is active, not passive. It is not merely waiting. Perseverance is an interior work of the Holy Spirit, creating a firm hope that does not waiver based on our circumstances. (See also James 1:4)

Romans 12:11-12 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, [persevere] in affliction, faithful in prayer.

            In this section of chapter 12 Paul is rattling off different admonitions related to basic Christian living. In the middle of his basic Christianity is the challenge to persevere in affliction. Perseverance is a core trait for all Christians, not just the pitiful ones. Are we ok with that? How does it change our understanding of suffering if we realize on the front end that we are to be well stocked in perseverance?

Romans 15:5 May the God who gives [perseverance] and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus…

            God gives perseverance. He is the source. Surely his storehouse never runs dry. Spurgeon wrote, “What more could you need with Omnipotence on your side?” Perseverance is not found in any source other than the Father. In times of trial, deeper communion will lead to greater perseverance. It has always been my experience that when I run away, I crumble. 

1 Corinthians 13:7 [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

            Love perseveres so that we might share the gospel, reach the unreached, minister with our spiritual gifts, be a voice for the voiceless, stand up against injustice, feed the hungry, give our resources away, heal a marriage, care for the sick, complete an adoption. Without perseverance love is painfully incomplete.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

            What is “Christ’s perseverance”? It is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is sweating drops of blood. It is being beaten and mauled. It is hanging naked and humiliated on the cross. It is giving his life for mine. When I need a model for how to endure my trials, I need only to look at the cross. Isaiah wrote in the Messiah’s voice, “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Is. 50:7). Christ persevered through the greatest agony for the joy set before him.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

            I believe James is speaking more directly about clinging to your faith in the midst of persecutions. Still, I want to be that blessed man who has persevered under my trials, whatever shape they take. There have been days that were faith-rattling. You’ve been there right? How amazing will be the day when we receive our reward from God. (See also John 16:21)

Revelation 2:2a I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

            Jesus is speaking here to the church at Ephesus. Here he says that he knows their perseverance. I’ve never thought of my perseverance being on display before Christ. What does that mean? I understand it like this. He is present in my affliction. Not watching from afar, like a distant spectator. He is present in the midst of it as a co-sufferer. Perseverance is made easier when I remember that God is with me.

So there’s a bit more to perseverance than just surviving. Our perseverance is given by God, attended by Christ, and enabled by the Holy Spirit. The Godhead is on your side in seasons like this.  May God give us strength and grace as we learn to live in Christ’s perseverance.