Waiting

I've started to realize that waiting is an art, that waiting achieves things.
Waiting can be very, very powerful.
Time is a valuable thing. If you can wait two years, you can sometimes achieve something that you could not achieve today, however hard you worked, however much money you threw up in the air, however many times you banged your head against the wall. . .
--The Courage to Change by Dennis Wholey



Today, I am willing to learn the art of patience.
If I am feeling powerless because I am waiting for something to happen and I am not in control of timing, I will focus on the power available to me by learning to wait.

Patience

Few experiences are of less value than fast sobriety.
Too many times discouragement has been the bonus for unrealistic expectations.
. . . The secret of fulfilling my potential is in acknowledging my limitations
and believing that time is a gift, not a threat.
~ Daily Reflections, p. 70

Patience With My Unsolved Questions

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

 

 

I am on a journey and, in some ways, this journey is a quest for answers.

The questions give energy and direction to my seeking.

I cannot expect to get quick or easy answers.

And some questions will always remain just that: questions.

But I can learn to be patient with ourselves, tolerant of our incompleteness, and always curious about how it will all turn out.

 

Today I will practice patience with myself and

embrace my unsolved questions

as crucial elements in my quest.

Patience

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

Lida Clarkson

 

My patience will pay off today.

I can be certain that what comes to me today is on time.

 

~~~ @@ ~~~

Be Patient with Everyone

From writings by St. Francis de Sales

Be patient with everyone,

but above all with yourself . . .

do not be disappointed by your imperfections,

but always rise up with fresh courage.

How are you to be patient

in dealing with your neighbor's faults

if you are impatient in dealing with your own?

They who are worried by their own shortcomings

will not correct them.

All positive progress comes from

a calm and peaceful mind.

The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D.

The Art Of Patience

I've started to realize that waiting is an art,

that waiting achieves things.

Waiting can be very, very powerful.

Time is a valuable thing.

If you can wait two years,

you can sometimes achieve something that

you could not achieve today,

however hard you worked,

however much money you threw up in the air,

however many times you banged your head against the wall . . .

The Courage to Change
by Dennis Wholey

The people who are most successful at living and loving are those who can learn to wait successfully.
Not many people enjoy waiting or learning patience.
Yet, waiting can be a powerful tool that will help me accomplish much good.

Deal with my frustration and impatience, but learn how to wait.
The old saying, "You can't always get what you want" isn't entirely true.
Often, in life, I can get what I want - especially the desires of my heart - if I can learn to wait.

Today, I am willing to learn the art of patience.
If I am feeling powerless because I am waiting for something to happen and I am not in control of timing, I will focus on the power available to me by learning to wait.

How Far?

“The patient and humble endurance of the cross
—whatever nature it may be—
is the highest work we have to do.”

Oh, how far I am at 84 years of age from
being an image of Jesus in his sacred life on earth!”

Saint Katharine Drexel

Living The Moment To The Fullest

Patience is a hard discipline.
It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict.
Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something.
Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are.
When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are.
We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else.
Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.

-- Henri Nouwen

Patience

Patience is a particular requirement.

Without it, you can destroy in an hour

what it might take you weeks to repair.

--Charlie W. Shedd

Enjoying the moment, in its fullest, makes possible a peaceful and patient pace.
Progress is guaranteed if my mind is centered in the present, on the only event deserving of my attention.
I can be certain that error and frustration will haunt me if my attention are divided.

Patience slows me down long enough to notice another, and to be grateful for the gifts of the moment.
Patience promises me the power to move forward with purpose.

Today's fruits will be in proportion to my patience.

Courage And Patience

Courage is not grim determination, boastful arrogance, or uncontrolled aggression.
True courage comes from quiet conviction, which shows itself in self-control, calm assurance, and patient persistence.

Today, I will face life with courage.

I will respond calmly and confidently to life's challenges.

I will place my faith and trust in God and

the principles I am learning in this philosophy of living.

The Fruit of the Spirit

How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us?
Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God.
This idea can make us very self-conscious.
We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God's presence in their lives.
But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions.

The way God's Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).
These fruits speak for themselves.
It is therefore always better to raise the question "How can I grow in the Spirit?" than the question "How can I make others believe in the Spirit?"
--Henri Nouwen

Open Our Hearts To All Humanity

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares..

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.