PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 2: “Impatience is a particularly dangerous habit of the heart because everything worthwhile takes time. Good marriages take time. Spiritual maturity takes time. Financial stability takes time. Effective ministry takes time. Wisdom takes time. People who are not willing to take time cannot have any of the above.” ― Jim Berg
I know I have missed opportunities in my life, due to my impatience. I want to sit with uncertainty and with ambivalence, but am not good at this…yet.
Aging gives us many gifts if we are doing this work. One of them is the insight necessary to have what is called wisdom. I know I have to wait for seeds to sprout and grow to gain the things I am planting. I know a good garden takes a couple of years to grow into itself. Yet, I am longing to see the fruits of my labor right away.
My best gardens were ones that morphed over many years of development. But, I can honestly say that I seldom stick around long enough to allow that to happen. One home I lived in had 27 trees I planted on the property. They were spectacular, because I lived there for 11 years. Sadly, that is the longest I have stayed anywhere. I am not planted with deep roots myself. So, I have missed many beautiful opportunities to see things I have planted grow into adulthood and their best and highest good.
The same with me. I become so impatient at times that I am digging me up to see if I am sprouting yet. Does that make sense? I know what I mean, but am not sure if it is being said well. I grow in one area and then jump into something else before I gain the full benefits of that growth.
I can be guilty of running off to another situation before getting all there is to get in the one where I am sitting today. Ugh! Then I wonder why that lesson keeps coming around to me. Oh really? I want the full benefits of becoming a more patient human. I am learning, but it goes too slowly sometimes. Hahaha!
