“…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20)

In other parts of the country, autumn is in the air. Leaves are changing, sweaters are coming out of storage, and Pumpkin Spice Latte Season is back. Not in New Orleans, though. We’re still running on faith: faith that cooler days will come, that the worst storms will stay away, and that we’ll get to break out the gumbo pot sooner rather than later.

Faith is often a difficult thing to hold. It’s the waiting. Survivors may pray for healing, peace, and the certainty of God’s loving presence, but those things don’t happen overnight. They can take years or decades. And for survivors who might be struggling their way through every day, holding on to faith might feel like an impossible task.

Jesus told his disciples that even faith as small as a mustard seed was sufficient. Yes, tiny mustard seeds can grow into 6-foot plants in a matter of months. Yes, God can bring great things out of the least impressive pieces of ourselves. But what Jesus doesn’t say out loud is how much time it will take. (Probably because he knew it would bum us out.)

A mustard seed can lie dormant in the dirt for 60 years, waiting for the right conditions to grow. Rather than gambling with its own survival and hoping for the best, it can wait decades until it has the right temperature, moisture, and sunlight to sprout. For that little seed, patience embodies a radical act of faith.

So pray for patience for yourself and survivors in your life, trusting that God is creating the right conditions for growth and healing, and remembering that, sometimes, a willingness to get up each morning and let things happen in God’s time is all the faith we need.