Extending Patience

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.  1 Timothy 1:16

Normally, I would consider myself to be a fairly patient person.  When my three children were younger and could easily test my patience on certain days, I felt I extended grace, patience and lots of love in those moments.  Today, I continue to strive to be a patient person in my everyday life…whether it is in my home, at work and or participating in numerous other activities!

However, I realize that I may not be as patient as I thought.  I tend to try and use my time wisely, which means that I often plan my day down to the minute.  This careful planning sometimes includes using my lunch hour to run various errands, allowing me to head home or to another commitment immediately after work. Trying to accomplish those errands in such a short amount of time means I am frantically rushing through my lunch hour so that I am able to return to work in a timely manner.

One particular day, I decided to do my shopping at Wal-Mart over my lunch hour.  With my list in one hand and guiding the shopping cart with my other hand, I knew exactly which aisles I needed to head down and the items that I needed to pick up from each aisle.  I was focused on the task before me with little time to dally. 

However, as I hurriedly rounded the corner, there was an elderly man standing in the middle of the aisle with his shopping cart.  His body and cart were at such an angle, that I couldn’t pass him nor could I turn down the aisle beside him, which was the aisle that I needed to head down.

Feeling slightly annoyed and frustrated, I turned around and backtracked and came down the aisle from the other side.  As I went down the aisle to retrieve my items, I looked up and noticed the elderly man was still standing in the exact location.  As I continued to view this aging man, I was immediately filled with shame and remorse for the agitation that I had felt towards him moments ago.

This precious man was standing there with a small piece of paper in one hand and a pen in the other hand.  As I drew closer to him, I noticed that his hands shook as he looked down upon his shopping list.  As I glanced at the small piece of paper in his hands, I noticed the scrawled handwriting of an elderly person.  I have no idea if he had written the shopping list, or if perhaps his precious elderly wife had created the list and had sent him to run the errands on this particular day.  Regardless of who created the shopping list, I was immediately filled with compassion for this aging man.

As I went past him, I turned to smile in his direction, but he was still focused on the list in hand.  Again, I was remind of my earlier impatience with him, and I immediately confessed it to the Lord and asked for forgiveness.

As 1 Timothy 1:16 states, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those would believe on him and receive eternal life”.

Who am I to show so little patience to another when Jesus Christ displays his unlimited patience with me on a daily basis?  Though I am still often rushing through my lunch hour to perform numerous errands, I am often reminded of that elderly gentleman when I start to feel slightly frustrated if my errands aren’t getting accomplished in a timely manner and I am quickly reminded of God’s unlimited patience with me.

Dear Heavenly Father…help me to extend unlimited patience with others just as you extend unlimited patience to me on a daily basis.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed agitation to creep in when my day/time is not going as planned.  Help me to focus more on your eternal plan than on the plans I have for the moment.