…be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another…
James 5:7-10
I usually think of myself as a very patient person. And then something happens like my computer freezes or the paycheck I’ve been waiting for doesn’t come in the mail or the water won’t boil for the rice and I lose it. I’ve been known to have complete meltdowns over the smallest of things. Sound familiar? Of course it does.
This happens to all of us. We spend good chunks of our lives waiting: in line, for others, to get through the day, to graduate, to find that perfect job (or any job), for Mister or Miss Right. We wait. And we try to be patient but it’s hard. Really hard. And so we grumble. Just like James advises us not to.
The sad part about grumbling is that it’s usually those closest to us who are the recipients. We strike out and they’re the ones within punching distance. And what we don’t remember while we’re doing it, is that it not only hurts them, it hurts us and it hurts our relationship with God. Every time we grumble, every time we’re impatient or allow our hearts to harden rather than be strengthened, we slip.
It’s been a difficult year for me for so many reasons and I know the same is true for many of you. But I also know that God wants me to continue to be patient: with Him, with the world, with myself. And as we embark upon this advent season, a season of waiting, joyous waiting, for the baby Jesus to be born, for Christmas spent with loved ones, for vacations and new years, I’m going to try and grumble less. I’m going to try and breathe more. And I’m going to try and remember that being patient is exactly what God wants from me. He wants me to know He is near. In fact, He is here. He’s everywhere.
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