One of the Fruits of the Spirit that I tend to struggle with the most is PATIENCE. I’m sure you can tell from my previous devotions that simple tasks such as standing in a long line, driving behind someone who doesn’t seem to need to be anywhere, or waiting on that particular person to finally return your call or e-mail tends to frustrate me. Yes, here we are again, my name is Amy Lee McKee and I can be extremely impatient. I think it all started when I was in my mother’s womb. I was 7 months, I still had 2 more months to go, but I decided, hey – it’s time you let me out of here, I have things to do. So there it began, making my arrival 2 months early, even before my mom had her baby shower and my parents were unable to take a lamaz class. Sorry mom and dad.

Even as I write this devotional, I am sitting up in the library at the church because our main office has been taken over by construction workers preparing for our new bathrooms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about our new bathrooms, but I’m also impatient because they were only supposed to be working in the main office area for 2 days and now it looks like that time period will be extended. So what does someone like me do who tends to be a wee bit impatient when God obviously calls us to be patient and trust in His timing?

Prayer, lots of prayer my friends! I find that anytime I start to get frustrated, I must stop and talk to God. Worship music, oh how that calms my soul – especially in the car, I need to listen to The Message on XM radio when dealing with other drivers and frustrations that tend to arise. Exercise/walking also helps to alleviate my stress level and draw me closer to God. Of course there are the scriptures. The wonderful scriptures that help me realize that God is in control and He knows exactly what He’s doing and the timetable He’s doing it in. Romans 8:25 reminds us – But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Friends, let’s work on this PATIENCE Fruit of the Spirit together. Together we can encourage one another and lift each other up when the road seems long or somewhat treacherous.

Prayer

 Draw us closer to You oh Lord, every single day, as we go about our various activities help us not to stress, fret, or worry. Help us to patiently wait on You, wait on Your word, and wait on Your Spirit to guide our steps. Help us to encourage one another when patience seems very hard to find. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.