74: Wisdom and Rest

"...For with wisdom cometh patience, And with patience cometh rest..."

This week, I am reading the poem The Hardest Time of All, by Sarah Doudney. Written in 1896.

Reflection Questions:

• Where are you waiting for some major change to occur as a result of your work?  Is it time to gain more wisdom or to be more patient or to stop and rest in that area?

• Will you take the time to document your hopes for change in the coming year and then schedule an email to send that reflection to yourself in a year as a way to see that those hardest times of waiting was when the change was actually occurring?

Reflection on the poem:

This week, I attended our statewide Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, just to sit in the audience and learn.  A recurring theme was perseverance in small daily tasks that will yield fruit.  Our work does take patience in order to see change. Whatever your faith tradition, let’s take a moment to reflect on wisdom, patience, and rest as it works itself out in faith. 

With wisdom comes patience and patience comes rest.  If we stop and reflect on the changes that have occurred in the last year, in those moments, those changes would have seemed minuscule filled with times of waiting.  Yet, after a year of those tasks - making calls, sending emails, writing thank you notes - I am confident that you can look back and see major changes just as the poem - we must wait for the blossoms to fall in order to gather the fruit. And now, the hardest time of all - or should I say, the hardest time in the next few months is to continue to actively wait for breakthroughs and major changes.  But, in wisdom, patience, perseverance, and rest, we see the real difference we are making.

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Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

Welcome back. This podcast explores the beautiful space where generosity occurs through ancient and modern writings from all cultures, seeking deeper wisdom for fund development work. If you like this podcast, please rate or review in your favorite podcast app.

This week, I attended our statewide Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, just to sit in the audience and learn.  A recurring theme was perseverance in small daily tasks that will yield fruit.  Our work does take patience in order to see change. Whatever your faith tradition, let’s take a moment to reflect on wisdom, patience, and rest as it works itself out in faith.  This week, I am reading the poem The Hardest Time of All, by Sarah Doudney, written in 1896. 

Quote

There are days of silent sorrow
In the seasons of our life;

There are wild despairing moments;

There are hours of mental strife;

There are times of stony anguish,

When the tears refuse to fall;

But the waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

Youth and love are oft impatient,

Seeking things beyond their reach;

But the heart grows sick of hoping

Ere it learns what life can teach;

For before the fruit be gathered

We must see the blossoms fall;

And the waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

We can bear the heat conflict,

Though the sudden, crushing blow,

Beating back our gathered forces,

For a moment lay us low;

We may rise again beneath it,

None the weaker for the fall;

But the waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

For it wears the eager spirit
As the salt waves wear the stone,

And the garb of hope grows threadbare

Till the brighter tints are flown;

Then amid youth’s radiant tresses

Silent snows begin to fall;

Oh, the waiting time, my brothers,
Is the hardest time of all. 

But at last we learn the lesson

That God knoweth what is best

For with wisdom cometh patience,

And with patience cometh rest.

Yea, a golden thread is shining

Through the tangles woof of fate;

And our hearts shall thank him meekly,

That he taught us how to wait.

Unquote

Hear that again. With wisdom comes patience and patience comes rest.  If we stop and reflect on the changes that have occurred in the last year, in those moments, those changes would have seemed minuscule filled with times of waiting.  Yet, after a year of those tasks - making calls, sending emails, writing thank you notes - I am confident that you can look back and see major changes just as the poem - we must wait for the blossoms to fall in order to gather the fruit. And now, the hardest time of all - or should I say, the hardest time in the next few months is to continue to actively wait for breakthroughs and major changes.  But, in wisdom, patience, perseverance, and rest, we see the real difference we are making.

Let’s reflect on these questions this week:

Where are you waiting for some major change to occur as a result of your work?  Is it time to gain more wisdom or to be more patient or to stop and rest in that area?

Will you take the time to document your hopes for change in the coming year and then schedule an email to send that reflection to yourself in a year as a way to see that those hardest times of waiting was when the change was actually occurring?

Share this podcast if you enjoy these five-minute reflections and subscribe to receive these reflections released every Monday. To explore fundraising coaching deeper, visit Serving Nonprofits dot com. See you next week.