Welcome to the Determined to Dance podcast with your host, Jennifer Hallmark. Today’s episode, “Perseverance: The Virtue of Patience” focuses on patience and its importance to the dance.

Are you ready? The world would have us march to its chaotic beat but God invites us to dance in His will and His way. Let’s take a moment to be energized, refreshed, and motivated to face the day, one spin and twirl at a time.

Show Notes: Perseverance: The Virtue of Patience

Patience. The ability to handle or tolerate life’s interruptions without getting angry or upset. Oh. That sounds super simple, don’t you think?

I’m laughing too. Or maybe crying would be a better response. I don’t like interruptions. Remember that planner/organized part of me? Often, I can handle or tolerate what life throws at me. I can switch and swap and move stuff around to make it work. I bet you can too. Part of the time anyway.

My problem comes with the attitude. The not getting angry or upset thing. I tend to be one or the other or often both at the same time. Throw in a nice dose of self-pity and that’s me.

Angry, upset, and whiny when life’s not going my way. So, I really need to figure this patience thing out.

People have told me before how patient I am. And outwardly, I put on a good show. And in some areas, I am pretty good at being patient. You can probably relate. Slow traffic doesn’t usually bother me. I don’t mind waiting in waiting rooms too much either. (I always carry a book or something to work on so I guess I feel productive anyway) I mean if I’m working, I’m still in the dance. Does my attitude really matter?

In my search and study, I came up with three things I need to work on in this area.

I’m never patient enough with myself. I wouldn’t speak to others the way I speak to myself. I give others grace but not little ‘old me.
I can be impatient with people who aren’t like me. At times, I want others to keep up with me. Often, I expect my friends to have their act together. All the time. What’s their problem?
I don’t usually agree with God’s timing. After the fact, I can usually nod my head. Say thank you to God. Understand what and why he is doing something. But before…

I whine. Why is this happening?
I get angry. Why can’t God fix this?
I get depressed. Nothing ever works.
I give up. Why try? God’s not helping.

Hmm. All right. Let’s dig a little deeper.

The opposite of patience is impatience. When I’m impatient, I’m restless. Irritable. Stressed. Anxious. Angry. Bored.

Quite a list. If I’m feeling this way and not doing anything about it, I’ll hurt my physical health. My mental fitness. My awareness of God and my part in the dance of life.

So, let’s tackle these attitudes.

How can I be more patient with myself and others?

First, stop with unrealistic expectations. Just because we wrote or exercised or volunteered a lot during a certain season in my life, we think we should keep the same pace all the time. Let’s look at housecleaning. Why would we think our house should look as good with two toddlers as it did before we had children or grandchildren? As we age, we can’t seem to keep the pace we did when we were twenty. Go figure.

Second, realize that people have different callings, personalities, backgrounds, and jobs. We shouldn’t compare and try to figure out who is right. Or wrong. If asked, we could share my opinion. Or maybe help the other person or even ourselves decide what is best. For the season we’re in.

And third. Let’s not forget my struggle with God’s timing. How can I be more patient with God?

I can’t believe I even admitted that this is a problem. I think it all goes back to me being human. I’m so short-sighted when it comes to seeing the big picture. I used to wonder why Abraham and Sarah didn’t wait on God. (Read Genesis 16) They tried to have a son in their own way and timing but it wasn’t what God wanted. How often I’ve done the same thing.