March Madness - Patience

by Devin Dummel

I was once in a Bible College class where the professor adamantly stated, “I know the Bible says to pray for patience, but that’s one thing I refuse to do.  Why would anyone pray for God to give them something to be patient about?”  When I heard his logic, naturally I laughed, but I also thought it was kind of genius.  Who in their right mind would ask God to give them situations and scenarios that would stretch them thin and wear them out?  While you would have the benefit of becoming a more patient person, wouldn’t you rather ask God for exactly what you wanted?

For those of us who are parents, you know that when you dreamed of starting your family, or when you imagined meeting the baby that you saw on a sonogram image, you did not picture the amount of patience that would go along with taking care of this tiny human.  There are many skills that make up being a successful parent, and patience is likely one of the most crucial.

From waiting for them to finish the bed time routine, to the ungodly amount of time it takes to clean up their toys, our children seem to know exactly how to drag simple tasks out and test our patience daily.  My personal favorite is when my child has asked the same question multiple times.  Over and over again I answer calmly and patiently, noting that I’ve already answered this question.  But it doesn’t matter, the questions never end.  And eventually I lose my cool.

Questions like, “Are we there yet?” and “How does that work?” not to forget about the all-important and ever ambiguous “why?” – are all questions that can easily try our patience, to get us to the end of our rope, and make us what to lose our minds.  So let’s take a moment for ourselves and ask the all-important and ever ambiguous “why?”  Why does raising kids test our patience?  What’s the point of them seeing us constantly at our breaking point?  Dear, God in heaven, what are you trying to teach me or show them through the process of being patient?

James, who was Jesus’ half-brother wrote these words to encourage believers who were struggling with patience:

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

While we might not want to pray for patience it an important part of God’s maturing process.  As God’s children, and for our children, we must embrace this profound truth.  When things don’t go our way, when we are pushed to the edge, we must have patience and preserver.   We can’t give into the temptation to explode, or to compromise on who God has called us to be.

It’s through this process (notice the patience is a process and is not satisfied instantly) that God matures us, completes us and makes us more like Him.  When we become people of patience, it is one more way that we show the world a piece of God’s character.

So the next time your child is pushing their limits and you are feeling like you are going to blow your lid – choose to show them God instead of your frustration.  Choose to help them see what it looks like to be mature and complete instead of satisfying something for instant relief.  God is testing your patience so that you can demonstrate the process of perseverance to the next generation.  They are looking at us to show them the way, so let’s so them what it looks like to be mature, not lacking anything.