Patience Really Is A Virtue

When God wants His child to learn something He will teach it

no matter how His child wants to avoid it.

This is the new lesson I learned today. I’ll admit it, I’m not patient. I like to flit around. I hate to wait in lines. I like to get in and get out.

But sometimes God has another plan for me that makes me have to stop and learn. I had errands today; several little few minutes at a time things to do.

Run to the post office and mail some items. I avoid the local post office for my city and go to another town to do all my postal matters. I know a small post office that makes posting easy. The postal clerk is friendly and helpful and quick. I was in/out, no problem.

Pick up some prescriptions at my local pharmacy. In/out? OK, I went to the drive through first. There were four cars in front so I thought it would be quicker to go in and pick them up. I must admit that I did a lovely three-point turn and slid into a parking place. In/out?

There were only two people in the line. One drop off. Easy. Got him out of the way. One lady picking up one prescription. Easy? Noooooooo. She had a problem because her medicine with insurance went up from $2.00 to $4.00. Really? The kind pharmacist went through all her records and what insurance she had and tried to explain why her medicine went up. Ten minutes later I was waiting for my turn. No in/out.

That’s when I realized that God wanted me to practice a little patience today. I was supposed to not get mad and silently fume. I was supposed to wait. God wanted me to learn this little lesson. And no matter how I tried to avoid it, He wanted me to learn this. This was just a little lesson in patience to maybe get me ready for a bigger lesson in patience.

When I realized that no matter how I tried to avoid my lesson in patience God was going make me learn it, I just had to laugh. There standing in line I laughed (to myself.) And thinking this was all funny made waiting OK.

 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:12-17 

I hope the next time I’m challenged to have patience and bear with another; I will let the peace of God rule and give thanks.

And laugh.