It's lent, the season of fasting and abstinence. I could see people
around me observing fast on Ash Wednesday and making wows to abstain from
things they love like non veg food, chocolates, alcohol, tv and so on, after
which Easter seemed to kick start all this with triple vigor and all the
abstinence made back then would lose its importance later. It often made me
wonder of the purpose behind it all. What was lent originally supposed to be?
Who benefited from it? Why were the ones abstaining craving for the same and
what did it mean to them? So one day a pastoral sermon in church made me love
the unconventional way of abstinence and why not? Abstinence from anger, greed,
hatred, jealousy, evil really made perfect sense! Wouldn’t our thoughts, deeds
and behavior benefit a lot of people? Wouldn’t they feel glad and blessed to
have us around them? Yes, it would definitely make a difference to them. The
priest that day further spoke about the fruits of the Holy Spirit which I tried
to incorporate in my life.
So when Priyanka invited me to write a
post on her blog about “patience” which is one of the fruits of the Holy
Spirit. Being a hyper active person, I was a bit apprehensive, even so I
agreed. I decided to do a quick self review on my understanding of the word.
When somebody says “Be patient” our pacing thoughts and actions automatically
get altered into calmer ones. I feel it has the divine ability to keep our
composure even in the most overwhelming situations. It is something we all try
to master.
We are so busy rushing here and there
that we fail to have patience with our loved ones; we fail to stop and listen
to them. Do they desire our attention? Do they require our help? Or they might just
want an ear to listen to or a shoulder to cry on to. Are we that impatient to
stop by and find out the reason behind their attention seeking? Or do we just
rush for all are pre-planned commitments? Are some of the questions worth
asking and answering too?
James 5:7 says “Be patient therefore,
brothers, to the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious
fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early
and latter rain.” We want everything to happen so instantly that in case it
doesn’t go as planned we tend to get frustrated or even upset. More often than
not we tend to lose patience with ourselves. We tend to overwork our emotions
only to realize our self made disasters.
1 Samuel tells us, “Lack of patience will cause you to miss
blessings.” This
reminded me of an incident that taught me about patience. I joined as a lector
in church to read about the word of God and as I went for my first reading,
stage fear kicked in - I stumbled with the words, rushed with the reading and
later bowed at the people instead of the alter only to find the entire choir
and people sited ahead laughing at my nervousness. That day embarrassed, I came
home and thought of quitting the lectors but may be God wanted me to continue
so I called up my mentor and narrated the incident to him. His words still calm
me down every time I get overwhelmed with a situation. He said, “Slow down, the time is
yours nobody can take that moment away from you, so relax read at a slow pace
and I know you’ll do well.” I could see God showering his patience
through my mentor. After that day till this very day I read with patience and understanding.
Yes, my nervousness still gets on to me but patience with myself calms me down.
What if I had quit that day? I would have never realized the joy it brought to
me. I would have indeed missed being blessed!
One can only exhibit patience to others when he is patient with
himself.
Think of all those moments where you have shown patience and how
did it alter your situation. You just might be pleasantly surprised.
Wishing you all a blessed season of lent. Stay blessed and be a
blessing to all.
Author - Ann Fernandes
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