Patience

I used to pray for patience daily.

As a mom of young children and a teacher of 5 and 6 year old students, patience is important!

One day I decided I could not ask God for patience any more.

I felt like I was being tested.

Like I was being handed frustrating situations in order to practice using patience.

 

 

And so it was.

I continued to pray....to thank God for the good things, the bad things,

to ask Him for comfort, to support those who are sick or hurting,

to protect my family and friends from harm,

to guide us through our day,

to remind us to act in ways that others would see His love through us.....

The list goes on and on, but notice the lack of  the word "patience?"

 

It's true. 

I quit praying for patience.

This year has given me some pretty big challenges in my classroom.

When I say pretty big, I mean

B.I.G.

 

Nine days ago, I began asking God for patience again.

While driving to school having our normal morning prayer time, I finally did it.

I FINALLY gave in and gave the challenges to God. 

I laid them at His feet and said He could do better than I could.

I asked Him to PLEASE give me patience to get through the day.

 

And guess what??????

One of my challenging students was absent.

(I didn't know whether to feel guilty or relieved!)

At any rate, I had a terrific day with those who were in attendance.

That night, I said my normal prayers,

and also added "thanks" for blessing me with such a terrific day at school.

Then I asked for more patience.

On the way to school the next morning,

I again asked for patience.

We had perfect attendance.

We had a fabulous morning....all smiles, grins and giggles, with a LOT of hard work!

Our afternoon went down the toilet. 

I have to say that we made it through,

 and at the end of the day,

I was thankful for the terrific morning,

and the opportunity to get so much work accomplished.

This week brought back the old challelnges

...the ones that we had before I began praying for patience.

Tuesday they seemed even BIGGER than before.

It was a tough day.

And when I say tough,

I mean "go home and cook and clean and bake til you feel better" tough.

 

I cooked and cleaned and baked til my heart was singing again.

I took dessert to my peeps at school on Wednesday.

I haven't had to make lunch or an evening meal since Tuesday,

and I'm pretty sure that I will be throwing out a LOT of food tonight.

 

I continued to ask for patience.

(beleive it or not.)

Wednesday was a much better day.

Then we were blessed with 2 snow days.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is....

this past week has proven to be a challenge

despite the fact that I have specifically asked for patience.

God heard my prayers.

He knew what was on my heart.

 

Looking back at the week,

He provide the opportunities to practice patience in small doses.

At the same time,

He removed some of the things that require the most patience.

How cool is that?

 

Sigh.

Grin.

Shaking of head.

WHY don't I just let go and Let GOD handle it more often?

God IS in control,

and isnt' that Delicious?

 

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"

Philippians 4:13