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“I’m gonna have to leave tomorrow's blog post blank,” I told Daniel.
“Why?” he asked.
“Day 15’s word is patient!”
“Oh.”
Two Things I Know + a Story
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 carefully. Avoid furniture 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 46:10a)
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
Do you have the PURSE-onality gifts of Slowing Down and Being Still?
If so, who are you blessing with these invaluable gifts?
If not, who is blessing you by sharing these much-needed gifts?
Try This Today: For 5 minutes, Slow Down and Be Still. No doing. Just being in His presence, open to knowing He is God.
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To enter today’s drawing, leave a comment
- responding to today’s blog, and/or
- sharing your Day #1-15 experience of replacing “baditude” with God’s word and gratitude, and/or
- about anything else on your heart!
Drawing winners 6-10 will be announced soon!
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(Catch up on any "Warm-Up Week" Blog Posts!)
