Gimme Patience!

This past week we've had a couple of sick kiddos, and now it's turned into a teething party.  Awe. Some.

 The nebulizer has helped a ton!

It seems to have frazzled me a bit and put me on edge about the dumbest, littlest things. Then a friend sent me a message, and suddenly I understand exactly what's going on.

Patience has NEVER been my strong suit.  In fact, it's never really been in my repertoire at all.  (Don't panic at my amazing use of vocabulary today.  I promise you it's a one time thing.)  So, of course, coming home six weeks ago with toddler number two was bound to test my abilities and find my incompetence shortcomings.

I was sharing with my friend the other day how I realized that I wasn't always patient enough with the girls on certain issues.  Especially Zoe.  She is doing so amazing adjusting to our family and life here, that sometimes I forget how young she is and that she still has a few delays and bad habits to work through.  So I told this friend that I had been praying for and working on patience with the girls, and she, being an awesome friend, said she would pray for me as well.

 

 I know they look too sweet for me to even need patience, but trust me, they are full blown toddlers.

This is how I know when people join me in prayer.  God answers the call LOUD AND CLEAR.  Not always the way I'm hoping or thinking He will, but there is definitely an answer.

Today I'm exhausted and on edge from the many days in a row of sleep deprivation and the over abundance of random baby meltdowns from my usual happy campers.  Then I get her message:

How's the "working on patience" going?

I completely love that she has remembered my endeavor (sorry, I know I promised just one fancy word, but I couldn't help myself!) and loves me enough to hold me accountable.  As I read that simple little message, all kinds of bells and light bulbs started going off in my head. 

Maybe it's been too long since I've prayed for a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), or I'm just getting a bit slow in my old age.  (I am half way through this thirty-something business anyway.)  But it seems I have completely forgotten how God likes to work sometimes.

 Yes, I totally posted these for my "fruit of the spirit" pictures.  You're welcome.

In our instant gratification world, we want what we want now; no, we want it yesterday.  But that is certainly not how we learn, and that most definitely is the opposite of this patience business I've been praying for.  I've been praying for God to teach me how to be patient, but I think in my head it's sounded more like, "God gimme patience!"  So the question really is how does one go about learning to be patient?  Now I know the answer:  Through two sick and teething toddlers. 

God often allows us to experience difficult situations in life to give us the opportunity to truly learn, change and grow.  I love that saying Experience is the best teacher because it gives the test first and the lesson later.  I mean how else will we truly figure out and fully understand these difficult concepts like patience?

Precious metals are refined and purified through fire.  I need to remember to count it as joy when I find myself in embers or a full blown inferno because it reminds me that God sees me as a precious metal that He cares enough about to refine and purify.

“And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

-Zechariah 13:9