…don’t be in such a hurry! That’s how the song goes, right? And if you ask me, it makes patience sound like an easy task–one we could all master if we just whistled or hummed along. Something tells me the song would be more popular if that worked:)

Recently, I was asked to be a guest panelist on a new, local radio show called Survival Skills for Everyday Living. We recorded four shows on the subject of patience, and they aired this week. I didn’t have the wherewithal to listen to myself on air, but the podcasts are available for download, so I suppose I could save them and listen when the spirit moves.

When I was first asked to talk on this particular subject, I had to laugh. If only I could quantify how much God is working in my life in the area of patience right now…it’s such a continuum, isn’t it? One of our conclusions on the show was that we all desire the patience of others, but much of the time, we lack it in ourselves. Is patience (or a lack thereof) a natural element of the human condition? Will we always be striving towards patience in our lives? Do truly patient people exist in the world, and if so, what is their secret? Is there anything we can do to arrive at a more patient approach to the everyday? In our relationships? These and several other questions were topics for discussion at our roundtable, which really got me thinking. I hope to be a patient person, and I pray that God will help me to be. But am I patient? Would others describe me that way? I’m a little bit afraid of the answer some days.

At any rate, participating in conversation on the show was a worthwhile exercise for me. I’m looking forward to joining the roundtable again in February, when we’ll be discussing the concept of proper thinking (ie. Thoughts precede actions. We are what we think about. We need to control our thinking and base thinking on our values.) I’m sure I’ll be challenged and enlightened again as I prepare to reflect on this topic on air.

For a touch more on the subject of patience, and a further anecdote on how I’m still learning it in my life on a daily basis, visit my guest blog post today on the Survival Skills for Everyday Living blog, theleaderproject.org.

And if you’re in need of patience like I am, do yourself a favor and don’t sing the song. It requires a little extra patience of its own 😉

always a work in progress…

mm