Patience is the hardest thing to learn!
Learning to wait is one of the hardest things any of us have to endure. We live in a society of instant gratification and rewards. We want, what we want, when we want it! It is like the cravings of a pregnant woman, we don’t know why, we just know we have to have it NOW! The commercials on television entice our eyes, and ears with a promise of unsurpassed satisfaction. It is believed that there are subliminal messages in those commercials which nearly hypnotize us to believing we have to have that product! We become antsy and impatient, yearning for something we do not have, but want with an unrealistic intensity.
How are you dealing with a slow internet? Do you sit by patiently and wait for it to boot up and enjoy watching the little wheel going round and round? Or have you changed your internet provider three times in the last year, wanting one that will serve you faster and faster? Let’s face it we are very impatient individuals, who spend more time on FB and the internet than we do our children.
And let’s talk about our children, how patient are we with them? Do we wake them up with screams of, “we are going to be late”, and throw a cup of yogurt at them as you all run out the door? Did they get a “good morning, I love you, or have a good day” from you?
Patience should be one of our best attributes, but alas it is not. Even when Israel was brought out of bondage by God, it was no time before they poured a golden calf and worshiped it. They didn’t want to wait to hear what God would tell Moses, they wanted instant gratification instead.
Here is the thing, you miss out on so much by being impatient. You must wait for the dough to raise so you can have bread. While you wait, you get to smell the yeast doing its work, then while you wait for it to bake, you get to smell the glorious smell of bread baking. Waiting can be a very good thing. Instead of your kids looking at an electronic device while they are waiting to get to a destination, have them look out the window and see all the wonderful things looking back at them. Count how many hawks they can see in trees or on telephone poles.
Instead of spending every penny you get, wait and watch your bank account grow, and the rewards will be greater. To everything there is a season, and instead of being impatient for spring to come, wait and admire the hoar-frost, ice crystals on the windows, and the funny snowmen in the neighborhood.
Waiting or being patient is an art, that each and every one of us should learn, or become better at. Impatience leads to mistakes, some can be corrected and some cannot. The Bible tell us to: “Be still, and know that I am God!” And, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” You can’t be still unless you wait for a little time to pass, for your body to relax, and your mind to clear. Learn to wait!
As parents we need to teach our children patience. Never rewarding bad behavior with instant gratification. This will only perpetuate that behavior, and they will have learned nothing. Instead, reward them for being patient and give a time out for inappropriate behavior. You are helping them grow into adults, so do not teach by being impatient with them. Sometimes you must wait until you are calm before addressing a situation, so you can respond with the proper attitude, and not out of frustration. Wait, be patient, you will be glad you did.
We as authors know that patience is the name of the game when writing a story. If you are not patient and evolve the story in a slow and timely fashion, it will only be ten pages long! We know what happens when we don’t take our time in our writings, they seem forced, stiff, and awkward. Sometimes waiting for an epiphany is the hardest thing we can ever do, but it always pays off! So learn to WAIT!!!
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalms 27:14
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isiah 30:41
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalms 37:7-9 40:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastics 3:1
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
II Peter 3:8