"Lord, Give Me Patience. . ."

Are you tired yet of 2020?  Doesn’t it seem as if it has lasted 30-40 months now?  I know for a fact that I am just over it.  Life needs to get back to normal.

When I think of this year I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.  You are certainly aware of the pandemic, and all of the inconveniences we are facing because of it.  Wearing masks, social distancing, events cancelled, and still we are not sure what will happen next.

And just to make the year more exciting, my wife and I are building a house.  My dad, who was given six months to live nineteen months ago, remains under hospice care in north Georgia. And my mother-in-law, who lives with us, has been in and out of the hospital and a rehabilitation center in recent weeks. 

Oh, we had one son to marry, and my wife retired from teaching, and we sold a house, and I’m in my first year in my new job, and we became grandparents, and the list just keeps going. 

Have you ever been on a ride at the theme park, realized you didn’t want to be there, and then it stopped while you were at the top and hanging upside down? Yeah, 2020 has been like that all year long.

You know, several of the things that have happened are good things. But they all cause stress.  And I admit I don’t always handle stress as I should. The Bible tells us in many places that we need to learn patience.  We are never “given” patience. It must be learned.

I’m figuring that by the end of this pandemic we all should be the most patient people in history, right? 

Two verses of Scripture stand out in my mind, reminding me of what I need more than anything. In John 15 Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” In Philippians 4 Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  I need to remember those two truths now more than ever. Perhaps you do, too.  We can do nothing alone. But with Christ, all things are possible.