“All we need is just a little patience”-Axl Rose
“I am not a patient person.” How many times have you heard someone say that? (That wasn’t you of course) I’m sure it’s been countless times. Times where perhaps someone behaved badly, blew their stack, maybe even said something they regretted later. To you. We get it, it’s tough to wait. And it’s probably a chicken and egg thing but patience springs from hope and hope is bolstered by patience.
Romans 8:25 says “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Makes good sense, doesn’t it? If we had no hope, why would we wait? It makes that initial, “I’m not a patient person” pretty sobering doesn’t it? After all, who would say “I am not a hopeful person” or “I am a person without hope.” And yet we are or at least we can be.
The psychologists say that patience, like impatience is a learned behavior. So all we have to do is educate ourselves and we will change the way we think, right? And isn’t that easy!? (I’m never sure what font to use for sarcasm). The fact is changing how we come at things, how we operate, is hard and it tests our ability to keep plugging away. There are so many obstacles to the things we want to do, things we see as ultimately good for us and for the people we care for.
Galatians 6:9 offers this encouragement: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
“…if we don’t give up.” Oh boy, there’s a big one. Come to find out the shrinks also say a byproduct of patience is tolerance and an acceptance of the multitude of things that will stand in our way, no matter what we’re trying to accomplish. I have to admit to a whole bunch of naiveté on this one.
Like some of you (maybe), I thought that at some point life, especially adult life, would settle into an easier, more relaxed groove. I expected to sort of figure it out. But the longer I’m around the more I realize this isn’t the case and sometimes, quite honestly it hacks me off. I get frustrated and fed up with the constant stream of roadblocks and I question whether I’m on the right path. Once again our friends in the “let’s talk about that” profession say that’s a product of impatience.
Frustration, the urge to quit and start over in another way, and a loss of control of ourselves and our emotions all seem to spring from our lack of patience. The thing is, it’s so darned hard! How do we get to this patient, committed state and keep ourselves from socking someone in the nose when they oppose us? I wish I had that answer, Bunky, but I don’t. In the end, I’m afraid it comes down to time. Time, and trust. Or faith, if you will, perhaps a faith in a larger plan.
It’s times where I’m at the end of my rope and wits that I tie a knot and marshal all the tiny grey matter between my ears and sometimes (probably not often enough) I turn to the ‘ol Owners Manual and often I find good stuff. Stuff like this one from Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
It’s during those times that I know I’m on the right track. It’s those times I know I’m moving forward, not stopped, and I have patience.
To attempt to move, to achieve, is to struggle. And there are no easy struggles. It would be funny to tell somebody, “It was a struggle but it wasn’t hard.” It’s the nature of the word and part of the nature of life. I hope the above gives you encouragement and adds to your “hope bin.” We could all use it.
I write every week about life stuff. Sometimes it’s religiousy like this and sometimes it’s not. To read more, click here to go to my blog’s home page. If you like what you read here or there you can subscribe for free. Subscribing just means you’ll receive an email on Sundays with links to the week’s posts, usually three or so of them. Please don’t worry, I never share emails so you won’t get a bunch of spam. I have no patience for that stuff…