“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

Our nation is very good at stream-lining things for convenience sake. We can drive through and get our coffee, any meal during the day, and any of our medical prescriptions. We pull up to a parking spot and we can have our groceries that we ordered online conveniently packed into our car. We no longer have to hold the handle of a vacuum or a mop to get our floors clean, miraculous little machines will do it for us. Yes, we are a nation that is very good at making things convenient. We are not a nation that is good at waiting. When the drive-through line moves at a snail’s pace we start to yell at the people serving the food (with the windows up of course) wondering what the holdup could be. When on the phone if we get put on hold we press the speaker button, put the phone down, and begin multi-tasking because we cannot stand to sit still and wait for five minutes. We (myself included!) are not a patient people.

In the Bible, the original Greek word is often translated as longsuffering. “LONG” being the key root word. Not only is patience essential to our walk with God, when we display patience with a world that is rude and in a rush, we stand out like a star in the night sky. Throughout the course of our lives, God will teach us many lessons that require patience. But in the meantime, remember to use it as a virtue in your every-day life. It is a kindness that people remember. It is a virtue that points to the love of God.   

God bless!

Noree Wegmeyer

Photo Credit:   https://www.freeimages.com/photo/don-t-lose-your-patience-1241239