Finding Patience in This Pandemic

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan

1 Corinthians13 tells us: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

“It is easy to be patient when we feel patient, but what do we do when we don’t feel patient? When we are stuck in a line or trying to explain something to someone who just is not getting it? If we let love rule our lives, we don’t have to feel patient in order to be patient.

“What is patience? Patience is having the courage to take a deep breath and look for the truth even when we don’t feel like it. It is being willing to wait even when we want to move on or hurry up and get what we want. Love ruling your life will require you to be patient.

“Above all, what we can’t do is simply accept that we are not patient people. I made that mistake so many times. My own father tried and tried to teach me patience, but I was certain I could not be patient. I said I was simply ‘not a patient person.’

“I just wanted to get it done. I wanted results, and I wanted them now. I didn’t care how anything worked; I just wanted to know how to use it to get what I wanted. My lack of patience as a ski jumper landed me in hospital after hospital. It slowly undermined all my efforts and all but ended my dream of winning a national championship many times.

“Eventually, after enough suffering and enough hurt, I had to learn to be patient whether I felt patient or not. I finally learned that if I took the time to act out of love, the fruit produced by patience would take care of itself in time.

“Patience is a long, steady push in the same direction, whether it seems like something is working or not. It is trusting the truth no matter how you feel. It doesn’t mean we ignore the truth and keep pushing no matter what; that is foolishness. It just means that when we know the right thing, we stick with it, whether it works today or not, next week or not, next month or not, next year or not. We stay the course at all costs, knowing love never fails.

“Our patience should come from our belief in the truth, in love, and in God’s Word.”

It’s not easy to remain patient after a month in quarantine. We are not sure when this will end, but we do know our feelings tell us, we are ready for it to be over … not, tomorrow, but NOW!

We are tired of being shut inside, tired of not going out to eat at a restaurant, or to see a movie or concert, tired of not working at our workplace, tired of being brave, and tired of being kind to those we are shut in with.

But love is patient, and focusing on persevering in love and keeping our focus, not on ourselves, but on the well-being of others will get us through.

Remember, “our patience should come from our belief in the truth, in love and in God’s Word.”

Keep your eyes on the horizon!

Laus Deo,

Kenny