Fine wine

I have struggled with feeling unworthy and unlovable most of my life (I’ll tackle that topic in future posts). This unworthiness often causes patience to erode quickly. Over the last few years this revelation has helped me learn why I’ve always been so impatient.

These last few weeks, my patience has been tested as I have faced unworthiness dead in the face. The voices shouting inside my head, telling me over and over I’m never enough…

In 1 Kings 19, the Lord appears to Elijah, not as a wind, an earthquake, or a fire, but rather, as a gentle whisper. This week, in the midst of the winds, earthquakes, and fires in my mind, the Lord spoke quietly… through a glass of wine.

It got me thinking about how fine wine is made:
It must be allowed to ferment.
It requires time to age.
Pop the cork too early and you may miss out on the rich flavor.

Life, like wine, can be rich and wonderful, but it requires patience.

I must be patient with myself, never forgetting I am work in progress, a broken, weary traveler on this journey called life. Healing from years of difficulty will not come overnight.

I must be patient with others. They too are broken, weary travelers. They have also experienced pain, grief, loss, and a host of other challenges. Their healing will not come overnight either.

I must be patient with the process. Like making fine wine, life often takes time. It calls us to stop trying to hustle and be still. To listen for the still, small voice in the silence. To wait.

We don’t always know what the wine will taste like when we pop the cork, but if the ingredients are of high quality, the waiting is worth it.

I still struggle with feeling unworthy and unlovable, but this week, in the midst of a storm, that whispering voice reminded me that a rich life cannot be hustled. Like fine wine, it must slowly and patiently be prepared until the time it can be poured out and enjoyed.