Patience

Patience is a virtue.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
Patience is defined as "Bearing pains or trails calmly or without complaint" (Webster's)

Yeah, patience stinks. It is not easy. It is certainly not natural. But it is probably one of the most important character traits to develop in life - and THAT is why I have to work so hard on it with our children.

These thoughts were brought to my mind the other day, when we stopped for a little historical enrichment on the way home from our trip to PA. I, being a history nerd-o, was extremely excited and eager to visit the battlefield of some little town on the side of 81 in VA. (Libby and Nathan were pretty ok with it too, thankfully.) But as we walked out of the stuffy old museum, into the steamy hot, and very quiet, "battlefield" to just imagine what had occurred...it occurred to me that perhaps my children didn't find this very interesting.

I could totally sympathize with them. I had visited many a boring battlefield or history museum with my parents over the years. I could also remember countless concerts, church services and missionary speakers that I was DRAGGED to....well, I felt like I was dragged the whole way.....and geeze, I was bored. I didn't want to go, it wasn't fun, exciting or very interesting at the time. But my parents brought me anyways - I had to learn to be patient.

And you know what? I am so glad that they did! Not only did I learn patience, but I learned a little bit of culture as well. Not only did I learn to sit quietly and listen to other people lecture or speak, but I learned a little bit of history; and now I love it! I can literally remember feeling so angry and annoyed when they would tell me where we we were going on those outings, but I can see how I was learning through those experiences.

So - back to the battlefield - as we walked out into the sunlight, I just smiled and started to patiently explain what had happened at this historical place to my children. Yes, I was patient; because, let's face it- they are only two and four years old, and they can't stand to be cooped-up or taught history lessons for hours upon hours. That's going beyond a lesson in patience; that's just provoking your children.

But, I did make a mental note that this was going to be the beginning of a lot of lessons on patience. I want to take my kids to adult concerts. I want to take them to church services and missionary lectures. I want to make them listen to their great-grandparents talk, wait their turn in a line and sit through long, long car rides. Through these experiences they will not only be learning patience, but a lot of other important character traits as well. Then hopefully someday, when they are adults, they will be able to apply those lessons to real life. And I think they will be thankful for what they have learned.