When I was a child, my family made monthly road trips to the country. Like the Bobbsey twins, my sister and I loved to visit our grandparents on their farm. A few minutes into the two-hour drive, I always began asking, “Are we there yet?”
My mother’s calm reply was often, “Patience is a virtue, Joyce.”
“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”—Proverbs 31:26
My mother exemplified patience, the fourth fruit of the spirit.
Over the years I have frequently quoted this adage to encourage my English students, my music students, and to encourage myself. Taking my mother’s advice has proved difficult in recent months, however.
Perhaps you feel the same way. We have all endured more than a year now of adjustments to our lives because of Covid 19. When will the uncertainties end? Are we there yet?
To quote Kristin Hannah’s book The Four Winds, “No one seems to know for sure; so we can probably all benefit from a little more patience.”
In Jill Roman Lord’s picture book You’re More Than a Sprout, a little bamboo seed discovers the value of patience as he waits to grow to his full potential. At first, he laments the long wait:
His days turned to weeks and his months into years.
“Oh, what am I here for?” He cried through his tears.
However, the wise moon gives the seed encouragement:
Be patient, my friend. There’s so much you can be.
Your life will touch others in ways you can’t see.
Like the tiny sprout, we may not understand the workings of the Holy Spirit for now, but we will understand better by and by. Patience is a virtuous fruit.
(Exciting news: Stay tuned for my June newsletter where you can read an interview with author Jill Roman Lord and enter a giveaway contest for a copy of this book! Subscribe today!)
In Mike Berenstain’s book Patience, Please, Papa Bear teaches the value of patience by helping his cubs plant a garden.
“When is our garden going to sprout?” they asked Mama and Papa.
“You have to be patient,” said Mama. “Have faith that what you have planted will grow in God’s good time.”
When the planted seeds finally sprout and bloom into their full beauty, Papa exclaims,
“God certainly made your garden grow! You’ve shown us the power of faith and trust along with patience.”
Deborah M. Coty also encourages us to have faith while we wait. In her “Heroes of Patience” devotion from Too Blessed to be Stressed, Deborah references Noah, Esther, and David as Biblical heroes because of their abilities to wait upon God’s timing:
“Noah, waiting for rain as he toiled away on the ark month after month; Esther, waiting for years to find out how God would use her. And don’t forget David, who, while waiting to grow up to be a warrior, found God using him as a boy to slay a giant and change the attitude of a nation.”
We could easily add Job, Abraham, Simeon, Christ, and many others to the list. Oh, to have their patience!
Veggie Tales character Junior Asparagus repeatedly asks, “Are we there yet?” in Doug Peterson’s book Ben Hurry. When he and Laura Carrot travel back in time to Rome, they meet Ben, a punny character always in a hurry to get things done. Junior speaks from experience when he advises Ben to slow down:
“You really need to learn how to wait. I should know. I have a hard time waiting for things too. But patience is a gift from God.”
Yes, God gives us patience if we ask for it.
My mother, a wonderful example of a Godly woman, found patience through faith. Growing up during the Depression, she and her family knew hardship; but their faith and perseverance and patience carried them through those difficult times. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her fifties, I know she asked God to give her patience and to strengthen her faith. She believed God would take care of her in His time according to His will.
During this month when we honor mothers while we bask in the beauty of spring, may God strengthen our patience and help us fight the good fight. We may not yet have reached our destination. However, if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, our patience will ripen and grow. We will get where we are going.
“I saw in my dream the Interpreter take Christian by the hand and lead him into a little room. Here two little children sat, each in their own chair. The name of the eldest was Passion, and the name of the other Patience. Passion seemed to be very discontented, but Patience remained quiet and calm.”—John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”—A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”—Isaiah 40:31
Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 10:36; Lamentations 3:25-26; Galatians 5:22-23
