"O Lord, let our lives overflow with the fruit of love..."
"O Lord, fill us with overflowing joy..."
"O Lord, establish Your peace..."
But then we got to patience. And it was strikingly funny to me that no one wanted to ask God for more patience. "What if God actually answers the prayer?" one girl asked. "I think I'd rather God just give me what I want now, not patience." I guess we all want lives full of peace and joy, kindness and goodness, and lots of love. What makes patience so different?
Etymologically, patience is related to the idea of "suffering." We are practicing patience - no, suffering - when we quietly clean up a toddler's fourth potty accident of the day, when we wake up for the fifth time at night to hold a crying baby, when we gently answer the person who interrupts us from a special quiet prayer time with God... Practicing patience means choosing to suffer.
Suffering doesn't feel nearly so neat as joy or peace. But the fruit of the Spirit all goes together in one package. Loving others necessitates patience. And patience that endures is impossible without the love of God in one's heart. Experiencing peace is great. But peace that lasts is peace that is practiced, and practicing peace in one's relationships with God and other humans necessitates patience. The fruit goes together.
And that is good news for all of us who want and pray for love, joy, peace, and such, only to find that obedience to Christ requires decisions to suffer everyday, in little and big ways. Those moments we might erase from our days if we could - That is where the love is. That is where the joy is. That is where the peace is. That is where God is. And there is no other place we should want to be.
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