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So, last week I said technology is my friend, thanks to virtual meetings and social media helping people connect during this difficult season. But truth be told, sometimes it’s more my enemy than my friend. Just ask my husband and he’ll tell you how many times he hears me calling his name for help, while uttering unintelligible expletives under my breath. That’s because in spite of its benefits, it requires much patience.

For me, I constantly forget that things take time to load, and I press the enter key five or six times because it’s not fast enough. Then I freeze the computer. Oh gee, the reprimands come time and time again for the same thing. It’s like I have a mental block of sorts. I’ve come to realize this is true and that mental block is called impatience!

Come to think of it, that is what got me into trouble in the first place with my Covid creation haircut. (August 11 blog) It definitely requires patience to grow out your hair, especially to resist the temptation to cut it yourself and end up with a Covid creation of your own. However, I’m sure I’m not alone in this. People now have to patiently wait in their cars until the previous client leaves the salon to comply with social distance guidelines. As school starts, technology issues are bound to cause problems. Just this past week, a friend’s son was unable to log in to his Spanish class.

Bad internet connections can be a major cause of impatience. My son has to work in my “pristine” dining room, (which I hate having messed up), because he needs to be close to the router. Forget about the fact that the guys in my house wanted that router centrally located in the kitchen on “ my desk”. No way! I insisted that ugly thing be placed in a media cabinet with the door closed in my living room, right next to the dining room. Because of that, we cannot get a decent internet connection in my bedroom or bathroom on the other side of the house. And the bathroom can be a real problem now that our good reading material is mostly digital. Okay, so apparently I have more issues than impatience, but that’s for another blog.

My worst acts of impatience are not technology-related, they are people-related. There are some people in my life that drive me crazy, especially if they interrupt me when I’m talking or if I have to repeat myself over and over again to get them to accomplish a task I had requested. Oh wait, I just realized this sounds like the same scenario with my husband and I over the loading problem, only the shoe is on the other foot. Lol, gotta laugh when I’m preaching to myself.

But patience is a much needed virtue in our society today. Think about car lines at the bank or oblivious people who go down the grocery aisle the wrong way. How about waiting for service at a restaurant after you are seated? (Then it’s too embarrassing to leave.) And customer service recordings on the phone with all the prompts have to be the worst of all, especially if you have to listen to them in more than one language. And to make matters even worse, after going through all those prompts, you get disconnected or brought back to the main menu because the prompt doesn’t work. It’s very easy to lose patience in circumstances like that. Wow, impatience can leave one feeling downright hostile.

Patience and tolerance are close but not the same. You don’t necessarily have to tolerate things you don’t believe in, but you do have to have patience to let people fully express themselves. The fine line comes when determining at what point you no longer tolerate ideas that you find extremely objectionable, without loosing patience. Everyone has the right to express their opinion, but not at the expense of others. People need to have patience with our system of government until it is changed in legal ways. Therefore self control must accompany patience.

Patience is easier for those with a hope for the future

Isolation can cause desolation! Anguished misery can take root in the mind as the days drone on, one into another. When hope seems lost, people become on edge wondering when this will all end, allowing impatience to spring forth. It has become a natural byproduct of this pandemic, and not without cause.

In addition to the aforementioned hassles, parents who need to provide for their family are now expected to supervise their children’s online learning during working hours. It is unreasonable and just doesn’t seem fair.

People being forced to wear masks all day at work, inhibiting the oxygen to their brain resulting in headaches and other mental and physical issues. Why? (Because of fear and an agenda, but that’s just my opinion, and it’s a topic for another day. It’s probably one too divisive to write about, so you won’t see it in one of my blogs. Besides I don’t want to add fuel to the fire and test people’s patience.)

But, I digress. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, when you’re in the middle of it with no end in sight. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you can take heart and be of good courage because God’s word tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

And we know God is faithful! We have a good, good Father who loves us and is absolutely sovereign. Nothing is out of His control and He allows these trying circumstances to grow us and mold us into becoming more like Jesus. He gives us His word to teach us how to overcome life’s difficulties. He gives us a hope and a future. Check out these scripture verses that encourage us to have patience and exhort us how to live during the waiting.

Click on the scripture address bar to reveal the verse.

I often write about circumstances that I am personally dealing with because it is a reminder to myself how to live. I do not take credit for my inspiration, rather it is a conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life. So, Im sharing it with you in my blog.

If you struggle with patience during these tough times, I encourage you to print out  those scripture verses and put them in a place of reminder, like your refrigerator, bathroom mirror or bulletin board. Remember faith comes by hearing Gods word so, read them out load as often as you can. You will not only increase your own faith but, that of your family as well. It may be a God send in dealing with your children’s learning online, while you’re trying to work. I hope you appreciate that this blog was shorter than usual, for those of you who lack patience. LOL!  God bless you all! I’ll be back next time talking about the reality of a new morality.