Patience is a virtue, so the old expression goes. I also like this Chinese proverb, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” Hi, I’m Tom Ellsworth from Sherwood Oaks Christian Church with a minute message.
What is your temperament in a slow-moving checkout line or traffic that’s barely inching along? In our fast-paced culture, most of us are hardly patient. By the time we pay the cashier or exit the highway, we’re so stressed it takes longer to calm down than it did to wait through the delay. Here are a few thoughts to help in such moments of impatience:
- Stop and take a deep breath – be grateful for the day.
- On a scale of 1-10 rank this delay. Only be annoyed at tens.
- Use that time delay productively; plan the rest of your day or evening.
- Listen to an audiobook.
- See how many Scripture verses you can quote from memory or use that moment to pray.
It’s hard to be impatient when you’re talking to God. Proverbs