A Virtue To Learn
Patience; often when that word is breathed the saying "Patience is a virtue". That may be so, but waiting can really be a pain. Even though I like time when I can just sit and wait I am talking about the patience for Mr. Right. I am only almost nineteen, but when you have lived the life I have and had a serious relationship when you thought you would be getting married like within a year or two. The sudden realization that there are no prospects is very frighting. Everyone, mainly adults around me like my parents and my parents friends tell me to wait. Yet I am forced to wait because well lets see... there is no line-up outside my door to date me. I cannot help but giggle to myself about that when ever people say that " You never know he is right in front of you". Yet I know I am not alone in the world that feels this way. Many just want to know the future or meet the special someone tomorrow. Patience is something maybe we all need to master, and not willing.
This is where it can get complicated. Have you ever thought about how you learn patience. Patience just does not happen, it is worked at and learned. So everyday you do not run out and get married to the first person you meet ( I would definitely not recommend this) is exercising patience. Everday you do not date just because you are alone but wait for someone who is marriage material is patience. It is learnt and then you become better at it. I know that it is a struggle everyday not to wish for the future to be here already. I know I need to live today first. God states also that tomorrow has enough problems of its own. Also worrying about something will not add a single hour to life. Both these can be found scripturally in Matthew chapter 6. Which on a whole is a really good chapter on life and how to live it.
About the future though, many of us today are control freaks! I know I am one, well more of a perfectionist. I also want to know everything now. I hate guessing at something. Knowing it all is everything and seems to make my life less stressful; there is no room for doubt. How can there be a hint of false in truth. Truth is truth. So if I know something is a fact then I can rest easy.
However the problem with this is the fact that I am trying to control my future. Not that I can see into the future, so it is really a pointless waste of energy and time. Just becuase you know a truth does not mean you know that what you plan for your future will pan out. (Planning and dreaming are two different things) There is nothing wrong with dreaming, God gives them to us. It is when we try to take control back out of God's hands to say to him " I do not trust you with my life, I want to take control"; when in fact God is the best person to be in control of my life. I know time and time again i have to lay down my control freak habits to God. Jeremaih 29:11 tells me that God has a paln for my life, a hope and a future. He does not plan to harm us. He just knows what is better for us. He knows us better than we know ourselves; like I know how many hairs are on my head. I can't even count the freckles on my face. Besides God is beyond time, he knows the past, present and our future.
Now this can be a very scary thought, what if what we want for our lives never happens. Maybe God chooses that we should not go this way or do something in particular. I do not know what it will be for your life, but what I often fret myself about is if God decides that I should not have my big family or even get married. That is a scary thought for me. Ever since I was little I have wanted to have a large family, be a stay at home mom and of course have my very own prince charming. Sometimes God knows better and the hardest thing is dealing with it. Not that I believe he is mean or anything, that is how much he loves us. When we leave his presence, the circle of grace and his loving arms we are bound to fall and to hurt. I know for myself when I did it was the worst time of my life. If I could just learn to wait and be patient with God's timing maybe I would make a lot less mistakes. Actually I would. When I wait for his timing then I am not in control and I am exercising patience. Even if it is hard to watch people around me get married or have a family; or be finished college. Patience for me is learning to live in the present. For everyone else it is different.
For you this virtue will need to be learnt for something different. Some have tempers and do not wait for explainations. Or maybe you are like me, planning the future and taking control is something we need to give up. All I know this is a virtue that if you do not have it now it is hard to learn. It only comes through practice and time. No matter how painful it can be just to sit there and wait for the timing to be right. Just be ready, not lazy. Do not use this "waiting" as an excuse to be lazy. So here is to the virtue that is learnt by using patience. Go figure!
This is where it can get complicated. Have you ever thought about how you learn patience. Patience just does not happen, it is worked at and learned. So everyday you do not run out and get married to the first person you meet ( I would definitely not recommend this) is exercising patience. Everday you do not date just because you are alone but wait for someone who is marriage material is patience. It is learnt and then you become better at it. I know that it is a struggle everyday not to wish for the future to be here already. I know I need to live today first. God states also that tomorrow has enough problems of its own. Also worrying about something will not add a single hour to life. Both these can be found scripturally in Matthew chapter 6. Which on a whole is a really good chapter on life and how to live it.
About the future though, many of us today are control freaks! I know I am one, well more of a perfectionist. I also want to know everything now. I hate guessing at something. Knowing it all is everything and seems to make my life less stressful; there is no room for doubt. How can there be a hint of false in truth. Truth is truth. So if I know something is a fact then I can rest easy.
However the problem with this is the fact that I am trying to control my future. Not that I can see into the future, so it is really a pointless waste of energy and time. Just becuase you know a truth does not mean you know that what you plan for your future will pan out. (Planning and dreaming are two different things) There is nothing wrong with dreaming, God gives them to us. It is when we try to take control back out of God's hands to say to him " I do not trust you with my life, I want to take control"; when in fact God is the best person to be in control of my life. I know time and time again i have to lay down my control freak habits to God. Jeremaih 29:11 tells me that God has a paln for my life, a hope and a future. He does not plan to harm us. He just knows what is better for us. He knows us better than we know ourselves; like I know how many hairs are on my head. I can't even count the freckles on my face. Besides God is beyond time, he knows the past, present and our future.
Now this can be a very scary thought, what if what we want for our lives never happens. Maybe God chooses that we should not go this way or do something in particular. I do not know what it will be for your life, but what I often fret myself about is if God decides that I should not have my big family or even get married. That is a scary thought for me. Ever since I was little I have wanted to have a large family, be a stay at home mom and of course have my very own prince charming. Sometimes God knows better and the hardest thing is dealing with it. Not that I believe he is mean or anything, that is how much he loves us. When we leave his presence, the circle of grace and his loving arms we are bound to fall and to hurt. I know for myself when I did it was the worst time of my life. If I could just learn to wait and be patient with God's timing maybe I would make a lot less mistakes. Actually I would. When I wait for his timing then I am not in control and I am exercising patience. Even if it is hard to watch people around me get married or have a family; or be finished college. Patience for me is learning to live in the present. For everyone else it is different.
For you this virtue will need to be learnt for something different. Some have tempers and do not wait for explainations. Or maybe you are like me, planning the future and taking control is something we need to give up. All I know this is a virtue that if you do not have it now it is hard to learn. It only comes through practice and time. No matter how painful it can be just to sit there and wait for the timing to be right. Just be ready, not lazy. Do not use this "waiting" as an excuse to be lazy. So here is to the virtue that is learnt by using patience. Go figure!
posted by Bea @ 7:12 PM
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