A Mother's Lessons

By Danielle Cote Serar

I and my mom used to always joke about patience, or rather our lack thereof. Both of us would quote, often a character from of all shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, saying, “I tried patience. It took too long.” And whenever my mom got frustrated with some form of technology or a situation (never a person), she would almost always turn to me and say, “I keep telling God that I’m not learning it this time around.”

So when the pastor said he’d be speaking primarily on patience today as part of our study on the fruits of the spirit, I could feel my mother laughing. It’s not the first time I had heard a message on patience but it was the first time that the opposite had been presented with respect to faith.

Impatience is the loss of contentment in God. This took some real reflection to truly internalize what was actually being said. See at least me, when I become impatient with people or things or situations, it’s because whatever is happening is contrary to what I WANTED or EXPECTED to happen. And in turn, I become frustrated or impatient. Patience in one perspective is the act of trusting God knows what we don’t and being content in that.

When I am impatient, I’m actually not trusting that God knew I'd be right where I am at. So whether it was living with my alcoholic father, or watching my mother go through cancer twice, or the loss of both parents, or the walk I’m taking now, God knew I’d be there, right there at that moment. He knew the journey I would take when he created me and he promised to never leave me. So when I become impatient, I’m really forgetting this promise.

Even through this, God still has a plan. God knew you would go through this. God is allowing you to be transformed through this pain. God meant this for his glory. Trust in God even when it doesn’t make sense.

As much as I may joke about patience and my lack of it, it is honestly something I do strive to improve. I trust God’s plan, even when I can’t understand. So working on my patience is only strengthening my trust in God.