Patience

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards us, not wishing for any to perish but for all to change as needed. 2 Peter 3:9

Patience is a virtue, but it is also a pain in the tail.

Moving into a new home, there is lots we want to accomplish, and yet we cannot get it done all at once. For one thing, I’ve got to work, and that means I am away from the homestead a good deal of the time. Secondly, while we have put most things where they need to go, there are many things we have to search for when we need them because they aren’t where they used to be.

For example, it has finally gotten warm here in the high country, but I will be darned if I can find all my summer clothes. I have enough to get by, but I can’t find what I want, and that could be frustrating for me, but it isn’t. I know they will turn up at some point, and if they don’t, c’est la vie – eh?

The secret to patience is no secret. It is a matter of control. As a friend of mine says, “Control what you can, and let go of the rest.”

We get a lot of wind here. One can wish the wind to stop; one can demand the wind to stop; one can throw a hairy fit until the wind does stop; but ultimately, the wind will come from where-ever it comes, and it will blow on to where-ever it is going despite our every effort to change it.

We cannot control the wind, so why get angry? What we can do is change our environment.

If the wind bothers me, I can roll up the window to my car; or I can go inside; or I can cover my face with a kerchief, turn up my collar, or clamp down on my Stetson. At the very least, I can turn my back on the wind and beep as I walk in reverse to my destination.

Control what you can, and let go of the rest.

I am told that nothing happens without God being aware of it. I do not believe God controls life and life’s events like pieces on a chessboard. But I do believe God walks beside us and, if invited, abides within us.

We do not need to pray to God “up there” for relief from what ails us, or from what bothers us. No, we pray to the One who lives within: Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I do not pray for patience. I have come to learn that if I pray for patience, God will send everything my way to build that virtue. Oi vei; God answers some prayers better than others, of THAT I am sure! So I do not pray for patience.

Instead, I pray for wisdom. I am satisfied doing what I need to do, cleaning up my own messes, helping others in their journey, and picking up what needs picking up.

In the times I am not busy “doing things” I discover there are many pleasures God brings my way, and those are rewards for patience I didn’t even know I had, and I find that is more than enough for me, my life, and my keister.

At least that’s how I blow in this, our valley.