Patience

 

 

 A Blue Van can teach Powerful lessons about patience 

Sitting at a green traffic light waiting for the blue van in front of me to actually go on green was a test of patience. I failed.  

Americans are busy people with a lot to get done. We microwave everything in our lives to get more done in less time. In fact when asked about what they would want most, the common answer was not money, nope - it was ‘more time.’ 

Back to the blue van. They finally moved about the time the traffic light turned yellow, so now I’m stuck thinking unhappy thoughts. Why? 

It didn’t go the way I wanted it to go and I was frustrated, losing energy instead of trying to be creative and problem solve. Impatient people are basically control freaks. It causes significant stress in their lives, and when I say ‘they’ I mean ‘me’. Yep, I’m a control freak about some things, and suspect you are as well. It can become a serious problem.

The old song lyric would solve a lot of this problem by simply humming, ‘don’t worry - be happy.’ Simply learning to flow with life instead of fight it can solve a lot of impatience. Dr. John Ortberg describes it this way, “Patience is the ability to dwell firmly in the present moment when we would prefer not to. It is more about character than being in control. It is often translated long-suffering in the Bible because it means to continue a difficult circumstances while moving forward.” 

So how to solve impatience? Go decaf and Slow down your life. Sleep more. Breathe more. Take time to really think about things before blurting them out. Relax and rest and don’t sweat the small stuff. Then remember that it’s all small stuff. 

The Apostle Paul describes this process as another way to define love. If you’ve ever been to a wedding you have heard the words from 1 Corinthians 13 about love, which has nothing to do with romance by the way. This section of the scriptures is about a radical way to block bad behavior in others by making a radical change inside. Specifically a change in modeling patience and kindness. St. Paul said if you love someone you are patient, (passive love), and kind, (more active or expressive love). 

If you want to be known as a person of great patience, begin to practice great kindness and model the long suffering of one who is patient. Even if you are caught at a traffic light behind a blue van. 

About the Author - Dwight Bain guides people in rewriting their life story through the power of positive change. Follow him across all social media @dwightBain