Practicing Patience

I received this in an email and it really spoke to my heart.  I hope it blesses you as well.

September 10 Don’t Push It Love is patient. 1 Corinthians 13:4 I’ll be the first to admit it: When I go places, I like to be on time. Punctuality is a big deal to me. I am usually not obsessive about it, but I think it says something about your character and about the value you place on the event you’re attending or the person you’re scheduled to meet. That’s just me. But it’s not Barbara. And on a few occasions in our many years of marriage, whatever character I thought I was displaying through being on time was more than cancelled out by the character I revealed through my impatience and angry words directed toward Barbara and the kids when they ran a little behind my schedule. Cookie (that’s my pet name for Barbara) is an artist at heart. God has wonderfully wired her with imagination and originality. But numbers just don’t add up in her abstract mind. As a result, being punctual is a challenge for her. Fifteen minutes either side is considered an on-time arrival. Close enough. It simply doesn’t faze her. I chuckle when I recall one of the greatest moments in my relationship with my father-in-law, Bob, who was an engineer. He said to me, “Dennis, all these years, you’ve arrived late to every one of our family gatherings. I always thought it was you. But as I sit back and think about it, I realize I was wrong. It’s not you. It’s my own child.” I smiled! There is justice! But you know what’s not right? I have occasionally let punctuality become more important than people. I’ve lost sight of the fact that human relationships are more valuable than any human expectations of structure. And even though being on time may be important to me, it’s not more important than my wife and kids. It is better to be a little late and still be in love. Discuss Do the two of you feel differently about the importance of punctuality? How has this been a factor in your marriage? How can you help one another be on time? Pray Ask God for patience.