I Need Patience Now!

Summer has almost ended. Fall is upon us with kids back in school or back to the books. Jobs ramping up for the downhill slide of 2017. Hurricane season is predicted to be a record breaker. Houston and surrounding cities are devastated with floods. It’s a busy and uneasy time. And I need patience now!

You may want to be a patient wife, but your husband keeps…. You may strive to be a patient mom, but those kids won’t…. You may yearn for days of peace, but you still struggle with….. Patience comes quietly as we grow in our understanding of ourselves, others, and God. Hope and grace are key words for patience.

We need hope that we are growing and maturing; hope that circumstances will change; hope that God will intervene. Hope is not wishful thinking, but excited anticipation. God is perfecting you for the day of his coming (Phil. 1:6). Unfortunately, it is hard situations that push us to grow. Growth comes from putting our roots down in to the soil of God’s word, raising our hands in praise to the Son, and drinking in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Then this fruit of the Spirit–patience–will grow.

Patience brings about the ability to give grace to others and to ourselves. As we recognize and accept others’ uniqueness and our own shortcomings, we learn to be patient. God is at work.” A day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day” (2 Peter 3:8) to God. He is patient and longsuffering. Therefore, we are to be patient and longsuffering. My husband told me once after I had complained about saying the same things over and over again to the boys, “Dara, God gave them to us for 18 years, because He knew that it would take 18 years of hearing the same thing before they get it!”

“Will I ever get the hang of this?” I ask myself often as I try to handle emotions biblically, be acceptable in public, overcome fears, or learn a new skill. I can beat myself up, or I can extend grace, chuckle, and try again. I have a plaque on the wall in my front hallway that says, “Live Imperfectly with great delight.” That’s my new motto. Life requires patience. How are you doing?

 My daughter-in-laws are learning patience as they await the arrival of Rowan Cade in October and Natalie Faith in December.