When we wait, we admit there are some things that are not under our control. Most of us like to believe that we are in control. We imagine that we are masters of our destinies.
If we work hard enough, if we are sufficiently prepared, if we just concentrate, we can make life work. And we can. To a point.
There are some things, however, that can’t be hurried. Recuperation from surgery, the grief process, a young person learning responsibility. A God Notice
Shakespeare put it like this, “How poor are they that have no patience. What wound did ever heal but by degrees?”
John R. Claypool has wisely said, “Let’s face it, there are two kinds of reality in this world of ours. There are the things you have to work for, and there are the things you have to wait for.” He is right. But we don’t want to wait. We are used to microwave ovens and high speed internet.
(Thanks to King Duncan for these thoughts).
Jesus told us this parable about patience and waiting: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)
Patience is not simply the ability to wait….
It’s how we behave while we’re waiting.
