Patience is a Virtue

So Tom Petty sang "the waiting is the hardest part".  I remember waiting for Christmas as a kid.  It was never easy!  Once you started seeing decorations in stores and on houses you knew it was coming.  I feel bad for kids today, the wait they have once decorations come out in stores is prior to Halloween now!

There is a bible reading I keep hearing of late from Habakkuk.  I'll be honest, the first time I heard it and where it was from I didn't even know Habakkuk existed!  Anyway here it is:

Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is a witness for the appointed time,a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.

I've heard this because it is the theme for a retreat I'm part of in May/July of 2014 (check it our here!), it has come up while teaching CCD and even once at bible study.  I'm not a patient individual and I have been praying for patience a lot lately.  Patience on the commute to work while I wait in traffic, patience with coworkers, family members and just general patience when things don't go according to my precise timeline.

Psalm 37:7 Be still before the LORD; wait for him. Do not be provoked by the prosperous, nor by malicious schemers.

James 5:8 You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand 

I still get excited about Christmas but perhaps, regardless of what many of my friends and family may think I have matured a bit here.  Now the excitement is more prayerful and focused on God.  I enjoy the Advent season, I enjoy the prayers and I enjoy the bible readings during this time of year.  Don't get me wrong, there is still nothing like decorating the house and watching Rudolph and all that but it is also a more prayerful time of year. 

When I get impatient I try to think of how difficult it must have been for Joseph to be patient as he takes his very pregnant wife to Bethlehem.  How hard it was to be patient when there was no where for them to stay.  They probably arrived after everyone because the fact that Mary was pregnant.  Travel must have been difficult without adding pregnancy to the picture.  How much patience Joseph must have had then. 

How much patience should I have when traffic on my commute backs up?

How much patience should I have when something doesn't go just right at work or home?

Perhaps I need to turn more to St. Monica, the patron saint of patience!