Yesterday was a dicey day for weather in my neck of the woods.  Unusually warm weather for January with a strong cold front approaching made for some strong storms to roll across Georgia.  It made for an interesting day with bad storms ripping across the state with a tornado or two further west then heavy rain and wind in my area.  The storms hit my area just as Amber and I were picking our kids up from school.  When we arrived at the elementary school for Ashley, the severe storm warning was issued for the county so school release was delayed.  We went inside the school to get out of the storm and wait it out.  One the storm passed they started organizing the dismissal for car riders as most parents were inside at that point.  Of course, it never fails in those types of situations, that patience where thin and people started getting snippy with the school as they were trying there best to organize an unusual situation.  It was very aggravating to me and made me reflect on just how little patience people often can have in various situations of life.  I’ve been guilty of this a time or two as well.

Today, I have been reflecting on the need for patience as it applies to life and our overall successes in life as well as the need persistence.  Far too often we come into situations in life where we have little patience to wait for the result we are looking for.  This could be  as simple as waiting in line at a store or an event or as big as waiting to make a success out of ourselves in our careers.  We have become a society that is bent on give me this now that we forget to exercise  a level of patience in waiting for those things to come.  What is old saying…”The best things come to those who wait.”  A very simple and timeless saying.  It applies to everything in life.  Yet with that simple saying, we put that aside when it comes to what it is we want.

Patience is something that needs to be practiced throughout life.  I know it’s not always easy.  I have my moments where I can get very impatient too.  It is part of our human nature I guess.  With that however, we must learn that when we are after a particular goal, we cannot expect to always achieve that goal instantly.  My career and education has been a practice of patience.  I used to get frustrated after I finished my undergraduate when I did not realize those salary goals that the admins insisted I would achieve.  Then I realized that i had to be patient for the right opportunity, so I continued working hard and advancing my educational learning even through today.  Napoleon Hill stated that, “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”  This is true with everything I have learned to realize.  You have to keep working persistently toward those goals knowing that the reward will come.  Don’t let yourself get frustrated when it does not come instantly.  It usually never does come instantly.

The Bible also tells us that patience is needed.  Colossians 1:11 states, “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.”  Our journey of faith requires patience as well.  There are many times when we pray to the Lord for something and all too often when we don’t think He has answered those prayers when get angry and sometimes resentful thinking He is not listening to us.  When are praying and seeking God, this is a time where we need to practice even more patience.  We should in fact pray for the strength to find patience within us.  God knows all of our prayers and hears us always.  We cannot expect an answer on our time.  We are on His time always.  Be patient and listen and He will respond at the perfect moment whether you expect it or not.

Life is all about being patient for what it is we want to achieve.  It does not matter what pillar of life are driving at.  The biggest thing is to understand that no matter what the circumstance, big or small, patience is always needed.  If you are working toward something, be persistent about it but at the same time, don’t get so persistent that you forget restraint and lose patience.  Be persistent in your prayers.  As Jesus said, ““Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7.  Those words ring true through everything in life.  Be persistent in life, but never lose patience in that persistence.