“One more time!” What thoughts that simple phrase conjures! The enthusiastic glee of a child in a game they are enjoying. The determined efforts of someone giving their last surge of energy. The tired thoughts of a worker nearing the end of a long shift. The culmination of repeated practice to perfect some skill or project.

One more and one more again. Just one more minute… until a job is completed, until it is time to begin, until we can relax, until we get some news. One more chance… to say needed words, to see a loved one, to say good-bye, to explain or to share.

Jesus was so faithful in his call to others, receiving all who came in faith and explaining once more to his disciples what it meant to follow him and what was to come. He persevered in prayer, “once more he went away and prayed the same thing.” * Paul wrote to the church of the Thessalonians saying, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.” …More faith and more love for each other! So many “mores” we read about in the Bible!

I’m thankful for my “mores,” for opportunities to be with others, for times of worship and learning, for quiet times, for growing years. And when the “mores” that I seek are no longer available, I am glad for the comfort of others, the joy in God, and the knowledge of “mores” to come. May God grant us hope, perseverance, and peace and may we seek Him in all our “mores.”

*Mark 14:39, 2 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV