Day 15: PATIENT
“I’m gonna have to leave tomorrow’s blog post blank,” I told Daniel.
“Why?” he asked.
“Day 15’s word is patient!”
“Oh.”
I know two things about being … er… becoming patient.
And I have a story that illustrates both.
#1 Thing I Know About Becoming Patient
I need to Slow Down.
- Leave earlier.
- Attempt less.
- Handle dishes with care.
- Avoid furniture with corners.
Much of my impatience is caused by being in such a hurry with a such a long checklist!
And my hurry causes speeding tickets…which cost precious money (which took time to earn.)
My hurry causes broken glass…which takes time to clean up.
My hurry causes bruises…which hurt and take time to heal.
My Choleric friends and I are trying to live by a new mantra:
“We are ruthlessly eliminating hurry from our lives!”
Trying.
(Oh, so trying!)
#2 Thing I Know About Becoming Patient
I need to Be Still.
As in “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
As in: First be still, so that you can know that I am God.
God never withholds himself from me.
But when I am am still, I am open to knowing him.
(And vice versa.)
The Story
Eight years ago, Daniel and I celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary by running off to a lovely B&B in Big Bear Lake, California.
After feasting on waffles and omlettes the first morning, we sat together on the porch swing.
Well, physically we were together.
My mind was elsewhere. In Choleric over-drive, it was making a mental list of everything we could accomplish:
We’re up early (I hate sleeping in — such a waste of time!) so we have a good head start on the day. If we get a move on, we can get to the local zoo when it opens, hit the shops by 11:00 AM, have lunch just after noon, check out the nature center in the early afternoon, rent canoes around 3:00 PM, and then . . .
My mental hamster wheel screeched to a halt as Daniel pulled me close in an affectionate hug. Heaving a sigh of utter contentment, he said, “It’s so peaceful and quiet. I’d be perfectly happy just sitting right here all day long.”
I froze in fear. No, make that terror.
“Peaceful” and “quiet” were bad enough.
But far more ominous were those three little words:
“all. day. long.”
After a decade-and-a-half of matrimony, I knew Daniel meant what he’d said.
And I didn’t have to check my watch or do math on a napkin to realize that I’d just been sentenced to nine hours of “sitting right here.”
I wonder if I can leave him here all day while I go… did cross my mind. (I discarded the idea when I thought of his friends ribbing him, “So you took the little woman to a fancy B&B, and she left you to go shopping?”)
I considered arguing for my plan, but he looked, well, so peaceful and so happy, I didn’t have the heart.
I resigned myself to my fate: a day of doing absolutely nothing.
So we sat, in the peace and quiet of the forest.
As my I-hate-it-when-my-plans-get-changed resentment ebbed, I noticed things I’d missed earlier: the blue sky, the piney air, the flitting birds.
I felt my brain dial down a few notches, my shoulder tension relax a bit, my drive to “do something, anything!” dissipate.
We really did “sit right here” all day.
And I lived to tell the tale! (When Daniel fell asleep, I did tip-toe back to our room for a book…)
At the end of the day, I was more peaceful and quiet than I’d been in months. I felt like I’d finally been able to exhale after holding my breath for a very long time.
Slow Down + Be Still = Becoming Patient
(Can’t see image? Click here to download 1 Corinthians 13:4!)
Try This Today
For 5 minutes, Slow Down and Be Still. No doing. Just being in His presence, open to knowing He is God.
Leave a comment!
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No, no, no, no…! The challenge to slow down and be still for just 5 mintues make my heart nearly stop beating. I find myself in the throes of complete and utter impatience with my work this week. Today’s post (which I’m reading a day late because I “didn’t have time” yesterday) is a much needed reminder. Patience is listed as one of the gifts of the spirit, yes? Off to try it now… slow down… be still…
I am a very impatient person and I really enjoyed this post! I am working on being quick to listen and slow to speak which should make me more patient. I have heard about this book and would love to read it!
I have also been enjoying all the posts! I would like to be still and think I am pretty good at it, but there is the chaos of 4 kids all around me! This book looks like a great read and I hope I win!
I would have felt the same way you did! I am one who can’t just watch tv – I have to be doing something while I watch tv. I usually have the tv on, the computer on, and I may throw something else in, just in case. Being still is very difficult for me; but I guess I will have to try it more.
I have really enjoyed each day’s post. Today I was sharing some of them with my husband and 2x had to clap my hand over my mouth as we talked about other things. Oops! I am glad God is patient with me and works one step at a time!
Okay add patience to my list God….I do good sometimes but if I need something done I want it now and wont wait….then I come off as …pushy…
And Pam and Bill are great heard them speak at a church here in Turlock …ever since then when I call my husband on the phone and try and talk to him and he isnt listening to a word I say …and I am ready to get a little upset …he says ” look Im in my box” !!! then I understand and hang up…
he cant do more than 1 thing at a time…and he knows it…LOL
Great speakers on relationships….
Love this! Thanks for so many wonderful posts! 🙂
Patience…this is something I prayed for. I often regret doing that as I get in the slowest checkout lines, get red lights at almost every one, and get behind the slowest drivers. I’m learning more and more every day to be grateful for the little things in life that He has given me and my family. I’m really enjoying this challenge. Thank you for doing it!
Patience is the hardest and sitting still goes right along with it. I try very hard to be patient, but not quite as hard sitting still. When my “to do list” isn’t pulling me someone else’s is. It is very hard as the “mom” to sit still for a moment unless everyone is sleeping. Then you feel that you should be cleaning up something. Patience will be a challenge for me.
This. Is. Me. I think it’s funny that you said you would leave this post blank…because there is not way you would be able to do that. I know because it’s not in your DNA…and I know that because it’s not in mine! Thanks for the mirror! 🙂
Who knew patience was a requirement for being a wife and mother?! I have a joke that every time I ask the Lord for more patience He gives me another baby! We have five. Life’s a mess and there is SO much to do…. patience is a virtue we ALL need for nearly every aspect of life. I pray we all get blessed with more patience! DeAnna D.
I am neither slow, still or patient.
This is so important! It is when we slow down we can hear God speak to us. Natalie
I honestly don’t know if I could just sit for 5 mins and not do anything. That’s my biggest obstacle to spending time w God-just sitting. Thanks for the reminder
I always thought I was fairly patient until I had kids. Then I was ALWAYS in a hurry, because I didn’t allow time for mishaps. This is a great post!!
Being still……..great at that; I love to sit and enjoy the beauty God has created. I am blessed by the time I can be still……I believe it helps me be a blessing to my family when I have enough time in being still and quiet.
Patience……..oh my! That can be extremely hard for me if I do not have enough time being still and quiet before God.
Heidi J
I woul be sooo amazingly blessed if I got this!!
Learning so much about waiting right now We are trying to sell our home and it seems everything is about being patient and I am realizing i am not that great at it. Great post Would love to win this book
It’s so hard to just be still, slow down, take a breath…… But you are so completely right in saying that if we just let ourselves take a minute, we’ll find that peace and patience that we so desperately need. I have a friend that reminds me that it’s okay to just be – to not stress about the “schedule” and the regimen, and I love how calm she can make me feel sometimes. I’d really love a copy of today’s giveaway – been wanting to read it for quite some time now……
my husband and I went to the men are like waffles women are like spaghetti the day after we were married!! a refresher is defenatly needed!! as is a refresher is slowing down. I have actually been praying for a project bc I have too much free time, perhaps slowing down is a bit more important
Wow. A timely post. Thank you for reminding me to be still to know God.
My husband is the choleric of our family. He learned to “be still” during five days of sitting at my bedside in the hosptial, after surgery for ovarian cancer. As a nurse, he saw to my every need, but found himself with many hours of “nothing to do”. It totally changed his life, and while he is still a very busy, driven choleric, he now takes time daily to be still, to relax, to spend time with God and with me just “BEING”. What a difference!
(Donna Marie’s comment for they day!)
Wow… yeah… I needed that! Thank you! 🙂
I have loved following the challenge and loved todays post in particular. I am trying so hard to build my relationship with God. I find that I am never still and that I am always on the go. I am trying to stay in the moment more. I miss so much of my 3 children losing sight of the beauty of each moment…..This has been an awesome and inspiring series!