One day a young father was shopping in a crowded super-market. His three-year old son was with him. The little boy was riding in the grocery cart… and he was misbehaving terribly and causing all kinds of problems.
Every time the father would put something into the cart, the little boy would grab it and throw it back out. If the cart went close to the shelves, the three-year old boy would just rake stuff off onto the floor. At one point, the little boy crawled out of the cart and ran down the aisle, knocking over every display he could get his hands on, with his father in hot pursuit.
People who were in the store at the time could hear the father saying out loud over and over, “Just be patient, Tommy. It won’t be much longer Tommy.
It’ll be O.K., Tommy. Be calm, Tommy. Hang in there, Tommy.”
Finally, a distinguished looking woman came up to the man and she said: “I just want to compliment you. I’ve been watching you and I want you to know that I admire you and the remarkable patience you have with little Tommy.”
“Oh, but Lady,” the man said. “You don’t understand.” His name is Michael. I’m Tommy!!!”
Well, that’s a smart man! He was right to start with himself. If we are going to set a problem right, we have to get ourselves set right first.
With help from James W. Moore
God, give me patience. If you give me strength, I will probably punch them in the face.
When you are tempted to lose patience with someone, think about how patient God has been with you all your life!!
