Typically, when we find ourselves in need of patience, we are attempting to navigate a challenging situation, person, or time of waiting. But what if the patience we seek, especially as a grace, was a good and nourishing instrument of faith and not just a means of coping? Though we are often forced to practice practical patience, the grace of patience helps us step back, reflect and experience God’s presence in the stillness.
I unexpectedly welcomed this time of stillness and found the grace of patience was not a time of waiting in frustration, but a loving gift of calm. I had driven up to a train track just as the red lights began flashing and the large bars lowered into place to block traffic from crossing. I didn’t think anything of it – this track often stops traffic briefly, then drivers continue without much delay. Not this time. Though a commuter train did pass by…and then another one, the red lights continued to flash, and the bars remained in place. After several minutes and no third train, I realized the problem. On the farthest of three tracks, a train of several empty freight cars simply stopped, blocking the intersection. I was sure someone would realize the issue and get the train moving soon, so we all could proceed. ‘Soon’ was optimistic. After several more minutes, I turned off my car to wait. Though I would rather have been on my way, this situation was out of my control, and in that, there was something oddly good in having to stop.
The need to demonstrate patience is nothing new in our practical, daily lives. But what about our spiritual lives? How might the grace of patience, this loving gift of calm, lessen our concerns and increase our hope? When we seek not just ‘patience’ but welcome the grace of patience, we invite spiritual composure and contemplation to work in us. How does having to be patient make you feel? Is it frustrating because a situation is out of your control? Or is it peaceful because you surrender what is out of your control, knowing the Lord has something to reveal to you at the perfect time?
We may need some practice in experiencing patience as a grace, but when we do, we may find that it is its own path to trust, surrender, and peace – where we are invited to encounter the Lord in the stillness.
Next week, the grace of forgiveness.
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