Patience...

"Your kingdom come..." ~ Matthew 6:10a

Years ago friends of mine were praying for patience with their children.  All 13 children!

Their oldest child was about to go off to college, and it was just a very stressful time for this family.  My friends had shared that they just seemed to find the need for more patience.  I have to admit, I laughed a little as they sharted of some of their experiences, but, I also prayed with them, especially when they found out that they were pregnant once again with number 14!  (I will do the proverbial "rest of the story" at the end of my post.)

We talked about what praying for patience looked like.  

When we find ourselves seeking to be more aware of God's timing, or at least the ability to be comfortable in that timing, we suddenly realize the importance of patience.

For many, patience is a discipline that is difficult to master.

It is not the waiting until something happens over which we have no control; the setting of the sun, an end to a conflict, or the waves finding their way to the shore.

Patience is also not about waiting on someone else to make the first move.

I have discovered that patience is being involved in every moment of our life.  To not wait.  To be not just aware of the here and now, but to be present in every breath that we take, and to be available in those moments.

Impatience, for me, is when I can't seem to live in that moment, and that by some miracle, behave as if life will simply be lived tomorrow, later, or in some other place.

Being patient is trusting that what we seek is already present, and that either we must pray to have our eyes open, or God is simply waiting for us to realize the blessing.

And now about the friends who were praying for patience?  They had a little girl, child number 14.  They named her Patience.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2017