Have you ever had an experience where things didn’t turn out as you had expected?  We want to make things work as per our plans but life is not always the way you expected it to be.  No one knows what is going to happen in the future.  We wish for only good to happen but we all know that isn’t reality and it will take patience to get us through everything that does and doesn’t happen according to our plans.  As virtues go, patience is a quiet one.  It’s often displayed behind closed doors, not on a public stage. In public, it’s the impatient ones who grab all of our attention: drivers honking in traffic, grumbling customers in slow-moving lines.  Having patience means being able to wait calmly in the face of frustration or adversity. So, anywhere there is frustration or adversity, and that is nearly everywhere, we have the opportunity to practice patience. Patience isn’t always easy and that’s why it must be practiced.

Sometimes, no matter how much you want things to happen, all you can do is be patient and wait.  Good things come to those who wait. It might take a year, it might take a day but what’s meant to be will always find its way into your life.  Sometimes God will give you exactly what you wanted just to show you it’s not at all what you need.  Sometimes you just have to stop worrying and doubting.  Have faith that things will work out maybe not how you planned but how they were meant to be. You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are still thinking about yesterday.  Life is not about living in the future or in the past.  Life is about accepting the present moment. Sometimes what we want doesn’t happen when or how we want it to but that doesn’t mean the answer is ‘no’.  It just means ‘not right now’.  Be patient because the best things happen unexpectedly. Some things take time.  Stay patient and stay positive, things will get better.

Patience is a form of wisdom.  It demonstrates that you understand the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.  You will get there when you are meant to get there and not one moment sooner so be patient and wait.  When what you want doesn’t happen, learn to want what does happen.  Just because the past didn’t turn out like you wanted it to doesn’t mean your future can’t be better than you imagined.  You know great things are coming when everything seems to be going wrong.  Great faith is the product of great fights.  Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests.  Great triumphs can only come out of great trials.  The secret to being patient is focusing on the hope and not the doubt.  The longer you wait for something the more you appreciate it when you get it.  Everything worth having is definitely worth waiting for.

Two things define you – your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything.  Patience is an important tool in overcoming frustration.  Patience allows us to suspend judgment long enough to make informed decisions, thus paving the path to a happy and peaceful life.  Practicing patience in everyday situations—like with our punctuality, our driving or just standing in line at the grocery store will not only make life more pleasant in the present, but might also help pave the way for a more satisfying and successful future.  Anger and stress are two things that are enough to ruin a person’s health and patience is the antidote to both these illnesses.  Being patient, you can overcome any challenging situation in a better way.  Remember, patience is more than having the ability to wait.  Patience is having a good attitude while you wait.  Purpose to practice patience daily especially during this time of the year. Patience – use it before you ‘lose’ it!