Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
by Pastor Rob Rose
I stopped by Jayne’s office the other day to ask her a
question about a new member. She had a look of frustration
plastered on her face. I asked her what was wrong, and
she jabbed a well-manicured finger in the direction of her
office printer and exclaimed, “THAT!” I watched it as it, ever
so slowly, jerked into life and started printing….s…l…o…w…
l…y. For every two lines printed, it seemed to retreat the
paper back into itself and then jerk into a forward motion. I
chuckled and said, “I guess God is teaching you patience.”
She just growled…
Ever been in line at the bank...DMV… the one checkout
open at Walmart….yea, we all know how hard being
patient really is. I remember as a child, trying to be patient
Christmas Eve night for, not only Santa to come, but for the
sun to rise on Christmas Day so I could open presents.
Whenever I visit people in the hospital, I ask them if I can
pray for them and for what. Most of the time, the request is
made for patience. Waiting for test results, for a diagnosis,
for a medicine to work, for the doctor to show up all takes
patience.
Personally, I’ve found that trying to “keep patient” or “stay
calm” only makes the whole situation worse. What I find
that works in these situations, is to think about what makes
me thankful.