Patience
Patience is the ability to withhold judgment,
praying that another will see his wrong, turn from it,
and learn something valuable from the experience.
Patience is refusing to put oneself in the position of judge,
but walking alongside another,
sharing my experiences and what I have learned
so that the other can learn from my wrong choices.
Patience is thinking beyond myself and my discomfort;
it is knowing myself, my strengths and weaknesses,
and it is taking the time
to learn to know and understand another before I speak.
Patience is not quickly gained.
It is often acquired through humbling life experiences.
Another word for patience is longsuffering.
It is earning the right to speak into another’s life,
“hanging in there” until the other is ready
to view things differently.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
It takes time to grow and develop.
We cannot grow it in our lives,
but we can co-operate with the Gardener
as He cultivates the soil and prunes our limbs,
so that the fruit of patience grows.
By Twila Charles Leichty