Patience

This photo was taken on the Monday after Christmas. John was off for a week from work so we took the kids to Woodbridge Mall and rode the carousel and the train. Julia loves horses!

This other photo is me with Christine and Marie and Mark in the parking deck before heading into the museum in NY. Mark was sooooo good! I can take him anywhere.

Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

I usually don't do posts on Sundays, but since I need to prepare for my speaking engagement on Wed. I decided to share some thoughts on the topic of patience. Now, it will be very watered down since I am doing a chapel full of about 100 students ranging from ages 5-7 years of age, but it is amazing what God can teach you when you are preparing a lesson for children. It's quite humbling in fact!

I'm first going to share with the kids where I got my idea for this lesson. All my good ideas come while I'm taking a shower in the morning, weird I know, but I think it is because it is the only time of the day when I am not holding baby Mark or chasing after my 2 year old, Julia.

I was thinking about our trip to NYC on Wednesday. We decided to spoil Christine and Marie, two sisters from Taekwondo, that are a huge blessing to John. The are in the leadership program with black belts and they help him tremendously with teaching and instructing.

We took them to the Metropolitan Museum in NY because Marie, a senior in high school really enjoyed her art history class last year and neither one has ever gone. John and I have been to every museum possible in the city. We love museums, especially art and historical museums. Many of our dates when we were engaged and newly married were trips to NY and Philadelphia for visiting a museum and then we'd go out for dinner.

Well, the girls loved going into the city, although they were in awe of how John was able to navigate the streets of New York. I guess because he went to Pace University and used to work in the financial district he is immune to the chaos and aggressive driving.

We had a great time looking at all the art and then we ate lunch. We needed to head back home by 2pm, but because of a quick errand that turned into an hour, we didn't leave the city til 10 after 3pm and then we hit major traffic. I don't know about you but I absolutely hate sitting in traffic. I think about all the things I could be doing, cleaning, cooking, and preparing and it is just awful to sit there and not be able to do anything...I think it's a part of my control issue I was sharing about in a few posts back.

Anyway, so I was worried about Mark who was now getting very fussy, Julia who was with a sitter at home, and actually I felt awful leaving Julia home for so long, it ended up being like 8 hours we were gone, and I'm never away from her that long. It was during that day that I realized just how glad I am to be a stay at home mom...I think I would be a basket case trying to go to work each day when I could be spending quality time with my daughter.

Truth be told, I was very frustrated at the traffic, angry at John for his errand taking so long, and sad that Mark was now very upset and wanting to be out of his car seat. Needless to say I was NOT being patient. All I could think about was myself and how this was all inconveniencing my day.

So now as I prepare for this lesson with the kids I think I can see how when we are not patient our focus gets all mixed up. Sometimes I am so into the moment that I forget the "Big Picture". I am realizing I need to ask God for His strength more in these situations.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

Lord, thank you for giving me the opportunities to speak in chapel at Timothy. I really look forward to seeing the kids even if it is only for a half hour. Thank you for giving me life examples to share with them to show them my experience and heart. Teach me to be patient in all situations and to stop focusing on myself and try to see the "big picture". I love you Lord.