You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open.

Well, It was Laurie’s turn to write this week’s blog, and I am tired of waiting for her to get it done.  Ironic that the subject that keeps coming to the forefront is that of patience so here goes my take . . .

Seems like hurry up and wait is now the mantra of my life.  Patience is one of the most important qualities to develop and It’s also one of the most difficult. Really, wouldn’t it be nice if after you identified a change you’d like to make, you could just snap your fingers, and the change would occur instantly?

 Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~John Quincy Adams

I wonder if Ol’ Johhny would still say that if he lived in today’s world of instant gratification? I’m sure he would have posted it on Facbook, Tweeted and IM’d all his followers to remind them that not everything that you want you can get it just by a push of a button. Sometimes you actually have to wait.  Bummer!

Those who know me, understand that when I have a direction I often read a book or several, and get gung ho about applying it. I’m not sure I have ever mastered the ‘art of waiting’ even though I understand that there is nothing ‘instant’ about finding purpose in life.  I have to remind myself of the Buddist proverb “If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”  Or even better I go to my namesake’s example as David knew of God’s promises that lay on the other side of the wait and in Psalm 27 he wrote: 

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
      while I am here in the land of the living.

 Wait patiently for the Lord.
      Be brave and courageous.
      Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. 

The world just goes faster and faster and makes it harder and harder to slow ourselves down and allow patience for anything.   We want it all NOW! 

But the “art of waiting” means we rest in knowing…some of the best things in life take courage and patience as we wait and give it a bit more time.  Perseverance is often a quality which is necessary in order to stick with the “art of waiting”. Perseverance may come naturally but most often, it is learned through the heat of trials and it takes conscious, intelligent effort!  I believe that patience is even more difficult when you know what to expect, life feels like an old Hienz Ketchup commercial right now.  ANTICIPATION = FRUSTRATION   IF  . . . . . . . . . .

Patience   I’m thinking.

A sense of humor, a loving wife,  great supporting friends and family and a deep faith and hope in a GOD who has many times proved to me that He is in charge and

“those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”    

                         Isaiah  40:31 

Waiting can be hard, it can be very hard!  But with the right attitude, the art of waiting can teach us many of life’s greatest traits Perseverance, Character, Hope, Faith, Belief, Strength, That is if we let it. 

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.  Leo Tolstoy

"All good things come to those who wait." I've found that to be true so many times in my life.  Thanks for having the patience and perserverance to get this far with me. I will leave with a quote from TD Jakes

Timing is so important! If you are going to be successful in dance, you must be able to respond to rhythm and timing. It’s the same in the Spirit. People who don’t understand God’s timing can become spiritually spastic, trying to make the right things happen at the wrong time. They don’t get His rhythm – and everyone can tell they are out of step. They birth things prematurely, threatening the very lives of their God-given dreams.

Which reminds me what David reccomends

                        "Be still, and know that I am God"

                                    Psalm 46:10

Dave