Discipline
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace." — Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
As a natural childbirth instructor, each week I had the
pleasure to view the faithfulness of the couples as they
came for their next lesson. To fulfill their dream, it would
take discipline. They sat through many hours of instruction
and practice sessions; then they would continue to carry on
these same exercises on their own, to ensure their success.
One day, when I was working on the Obstetrical Unit, one of
my students arrived. She was not assigned as my patient, but
her attending nurse mentioned that she asked if I could stop
for a moment to see her.
I found a break to stop by briefly. As I approached her
bedside she calmly said to me, "I can't stand one more
minute of this pain, please ask them to give me something
for it."
I assured her that I would speak with her nurse right away
and she would take care of it.
My initial thought was, She has just arrived and is unable
to cope with the pain, how will she make it through the rest
of her labor?
I was soon informed that she was ready to deliver. I was
humbled at this news thinking. No wonder she couldn't stand
the pain any more, she was about to give birth.
I never detected it in her peaceful tone. She was so
disciplined.
Discipline — I don't like it. I have never even been good at
it. But I like the results it produces. Beautiful music
comes only after many hours of disciplined practice; so does
writing, sports, and the many other things that we do, and
enjoy. Discipline is God's way of making us our best. He
shows us the rewards that come from it. With it we can
improve our prayer life, health, stamina, behavior etc.
There is no area in our life that can be changed without it.
Scripture tells us that discipline develops a special
quality in us known as "righteousness and peace." You
might keep that as your focus, the next time you struggle
with being disciplined.
Annettee Budzban