Printer Patience

I am really not one to pray for patience, as I know that God will give me many opportunities to practice that new patience I asked for. However, the other day I was noticing that our family is in need of a bit more patience.

Our four year old was printing something that he had made on the computer. He became upset, because the printer was out of paper and his picture "wasn't coming out." I put more paper in the printer and we tried again. I was amazed at the lack of patience this little man had. He just kept asking, "Is it ready now, mom? Is it ready now?" I thought back to when I was younger, and the printers were the dot matrix kind. It took "forever" for the pictures to come out, and when they did they looked funny. "Our kiddos have no idea how long printers can take," I thought to myself. They are blessed.

About five minutes later, our youngest daughter was asking for help with her homework. She had become frustrated and had given up. When looking at her work, it appeared to me that she hadn't really tried very hard and had given up quite early. I helped her to see how she could have figured the problem out by herself. It turned out she simply did not have enough patience to complete the problem on her own.

There were several other instances that day where we lacked the patience needed to accomplish what had to be done. I guess this lifestyle of microwaves, remote controls, internet and fast food has caused us to expect everything to happen quickly....and when it doesn't we become unhappy. This started a deliberate practice on my part to help our children become more patient. I now ask my children to wait more than I have in the past, whether it be for a snack, for a special event or for their turn. I have also begun talking about being more patient with each other and with our circumstances.

I think it is important for us all to learn patience. There are many times when we pray and ask God for this or that and He seems to take "forever" to respond. We need to remember that God's timing is always best. If we don't learn patience, then we are likely to take things into our own hands instead of waiting for God's perfect timing. Our inability to wait for God's timing could cause some major problems....just look at Abraham and Sarah. Sarah became impatient and no longer trusted God to provide her the children that Abraham desired and was promised, so she took matters into her own hands. Those actions have been the cause of many wars, lasting even until today.

Patience....let's all work to have a bit more patience each and everyday. Imagine how pleasant our homes would be if we were all growing in patience. May God truly bless you and your family as you desire to serve Him more!