Patience.

We all wish we had it. Yet we hate having to show it. We all wish we showed it more effectively. Yet we rarely try to exercise it. Patience is to show restraint, to wait, yet we live in a world where we receive things quicker than ever before.

It’s a world that forgets to sleep, survives on strong coffee and gives us an internet service which is perfectly fine yet we can get an even faster service for an extra 40 dollars a month if we wish.

Ha! Even that service is now outdated. You get the point though. We live in a world where we can get just about anything we want….when we want! In actual fact we’ve developed a world where patience has become an old school virtue. It’s become something we don’t always need day to day.

I feel like I’m constantly reminded about patience. That things happen for a reason. That you can’t control time. It’s said that time has its own way of changing things, or circumstances. But time is so precious these days that we feel the window to make things happen is a small one, but who says that window is small? Perhaps the window is a lot bigger than we allow it to be?

For me my patience begins with the knowledge that God has a plan for us all. This is something I’ve heard for a long time but understanding it and believing It are things that took me time to realise. You begin to realise it the older and wiser you become and for me the more my faith grows.

I do trust it.

But it doesn’t mean my mind doesn’t wonder down other roads and focuses on the things that I hope for and wonders when i will find myself in that place.

The truth is it’s very easy to find yourself knocked off your feet all because things are not happening the way you expect them to happen. But I feel like rarely do we not arrive in the places we hope to arrive in. It just seems we arrive there in ways we didn’t initially plan or expect. It might have taken longer to achieve something? Your path may have diverted you briefly? But, you still got there anyways.

I feel that most of the time I am patient. I stay calm. I remind myself that I can only control certain things and that there’s no point in stressing over things that you simply cannot control. It’s wasted energy if you do.

Perseverance is a wonderful tool that goes hand in hand with patience. To persevere is to keep going even when you have not got there yet. It’s about sticking to the plan. To continue moving forward even if the road ahead becomes challenging.

It’s something I’ve learned from and leaned on in my life. From a young age I learned that the will to succeed comes from within and that you have to work for it. Your own determination is what counts. Forget what other people tell you, or the basket they want to label you under. It’s up to you and no one else. Persevere!

Perseverance is such a good tool to have beside patience because they preach similar messages. Essentially they ask us to not lose sight of something. They both ask us to stay at it. To remain focused.

Both qualities are enduring and they require a strength that not everyone will have. Can you learn it? Get better at it? Of course you can but it’s a challenging road. But it’s not a road that can’t be navigated.

Perspective is everything. Sometimes we move in ways which feel like we’re not moving at all. Patience is king, perseverance is key. Look back at where you were. Chances are you have moved from where you were to a new place. Trust the process. Believe in the plan.

Most importantly, remain patient.