24th January 2022

I mustn’t have been in the queue when they were giving out patience, and my frustration-tolerance knob appears set rather on the low side. I’m not proud of that, and I don’t have any particular insight into why I’m like this, but it’s something my nearest and dearest know all about. It’s usually over relatively minor disturbances – websites that don’t work as they should do, being made to listen to generic recorded messages when I need to speak to a living human being about a specific issue. Paradoxically, I do cope quite well with things going wrong at the last minute and having to come up with some immediate alternative approach. It must be something to do with being able to react in the moment and not having to wait for resolution – more impatience!

But, of course, life rarely offers swift resolutions to its ups and downs. Some things just have to be gone along with and remain out of our control. I’m sure we all have personal examples of people or things we’ve prayed about for years – do you remember all those years many of us prayed for the ending of apartheid in South Africa or for peace in Northern Ireland? It seemed those things would never come, but they did. And so we go on praying, encouraged by these times when patience was rewarded. That still leaves me to learn how better to handle my character flaws, but I’m sure Someone up there has it all in hand. ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.’  (Psalm 27:14)

Ken Stewart