I often tell people that patience is a virtue and I don't have any. Patience that is, not virtue. I, like many of us here today, am not one who likes to wait. True to my type A personality, waiting seems like a waste of time. Time I feel could be used for more productive things. But let's be honest, waiting is an important part of our relationship with God. It seems like nothing happens with God when we think it should. In this morning's Psalm, the Psalmist emphasizes the need for patience when he writes: "My soul waits for the Lord with more patience than the watchmen in the morning, with more patience than the watchmen in the morning." Everything takes time with God. As I have heard many times from older relatives and friends, "Everything happens in God's timing." Even God's promises to Israel. The challenge we often face is having the perseverance to remain confident as we wait for God to fulfill His promises. In today's reading from Ezekiel, we heard the prophet's well-known vision in the Valley of Dry Bones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayHe came at a time when all hope for Israel was lost. Years earlier, the great kingdom of Kings David and Solomon had fallen into foreign hands. The best and brightest of the Israelites had been scattered throughout the Babylonian empire. Decades had passed and, to the untrained eye, it seemed that the restoration of Israel was anything but a hopeless dream. As Ezekiel looks out over the Valley of Dry Bones, all he can see for miles around are the dry, dusty remains of what used to be the children of Israel. From this perspective all seemed lost, how could God bring life back to something that had been dead for so long? But with God everything is possible, even bringing life back where there is no life left. For those who remained part of the Babylonian diaspora, the prophet's message was clear: do not lose hope, remain steadfast before God and wait patiently, "more patiently than the watchmen of the morning", because God can still restore Israel to its former condition and will do. glory. Be assured that God keeps God's promises. And God did. . .but it took seventy years. . .three and a half generations before the Kingdom of Israel was restored. Not many of us have the patience and perseverance to wait on God this long. It seems that part of the human condition is to live in the short term. . .to demand immediate results. If what we have seen and read through the media is true, our recovery from the Great Recession, as we now refer to the economic hardships of the last decade, did not happen fast enough for most members of society. After the economic ruin that brought us this great recession, most expected recovery to occur within a year, two years at best. And among those without work, I am sure, most felt like the Israelites of the diaspora, losing hope, while their impatience and fears grew, wondering if they would ever find work again. Where was God in all this, had God abandoned the unemployed, the homeless and the poor? For those without work, a month, a week, even a day is too long to wait as unemployment and savings begin to run out. Will God provide before it's too late? Only those who have lived long lives can answer with confidence because they have the benefit of time to look beyond the crises and difficulties of the past and see in hindsight God's care and fulfilled promises. Even in the Swan house there were moments of darkness and desperation.”