“He just needs a little patience”, the television football analyst chimed in as the sideline coach pulled his new inexperienced quarterback out of the game for throwing an interception.
Who could guess that we could learn one of life’s most important lessons from one of the million football Bowl games over the Holiday Season?
If we could order this special lesson of patience from Amazon, we’d order a double dose and expect to receive it in record-breaking time. But because we can’t buy patience, we beg God to help us. More than once I’ve caught myself praying, “God, please grant me patience. NOW.”
Immediacy is part of our lives: Instagram pictures, quick microwave meals, instant messaging, prompt emails, jiffy muffin mixes, rapid transit, overnight mail, urgent replies, critical responses, and ASAP notifications!
As we go through our day, impatience rears its ugly head, with ourselves, with others and even with God.
Impatience with Ourselves
We develop impatience with ourselves in many ways:
- We fail to meet standards.
- We exaggerate the urgency of immediate success.
- We fail to acquire what we deem we need.
- We emphasize what we lack rather than what we have.
Impatience with Others
Impatience with ourselves often spills over into impatience with others. People grate on us like fingernails on the chalkboard, especially when we perceive them to fail to meet our needs.
- People fail to meet our time expectations.
- People fail to see things the way we do.
- People fail to convert from their old ways of doing things into ways we think are better.
- People fail to keep up with us physically.
- Impatience with God
Like a spreading plague, our impatience carries over to God. We want our prayers answered on our schedules and in the manner we see fit.
- We feel the crunch of time.
- We think we know what is best for us.
As we progress through this School called Life, patience is one of the most important lessons we need to learn. Here are some signs that we are on the right road of incorporating patience into our lives:
Patience with ourselves shows up as gratitude and confidence.
Patience with others is demonstrated by respect and love.
Patience with God is faith.
In this New Year, let’s make just one intention to be more patient…with ourselves, with others, and with God. Working from the inside out, like a ripple effect, we can make a difference in the world, making it the change we all want it to be.
What are some ways you develop patience?
