If Patience Is a Virtue

If patience is a virtue, call me a scarlet woman. We live in an instant society. We murmur if we get in the express lane at the store and see – because we count – that the person ahead of us has 16 items in their cart when the sign clearly states 15 items or less. We tap our foot impatiently when the sweet little grandma ahead of us has trouble counting out the exact change for a purchase. We complain if our waiter or waitress doesn’t have our food on the table fast enough. We drum our fingers on the counter waiting for the microwave to heat up our coffee or food.

 

Encyclopedias and resource books have been replaced because with a tap of our finger, the internet instantly provides all the information we may need. Reading a book or resource material, or going to the library takes time.

 

I’ve often heard preachers say that the quickest way to have your patience tested is to pray for patience. Being just a tad impatient (well, more than a tad, but that’s all I’m confessing), I heeded that advice. Yet, somehow my patience gets tested on a regular basis. It didn’t take me long to realize that pursuing a dream to become a writer requires lots of patience.

 

Writing doesn’t necessarily require patience. Getting published, waiting to hear back from agents, publishers, editors, writing contests, and the like, all require patience. If you’re not a patient person, be prepared.

 

Proverbs 15:18   A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. (NIV)

James 1:3-5 (NIV) ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.