Patience...

Have you ever prayed for patience and then given the opportunity to give patience?
This reminds me of my husband Travis.  When we were dating he told me he had prayed for patience.  At the time I was running a daycare and unbeknownst to him, God knew he would learn this patience he prayed for by helping me care for the 18 children I was licensed for in my home.  

I find it funny to think about now, because I have never seen my husband as someone who needs patience.  He is a peace maker and brings that peace with him naturally everywhere he goes.  When we worked together in daycare, I watched this level of peace and patience he carried grow into even more, and I was so grateful for it myself.  Because of the prayer he prayed, his obedience to God's teaching has been shown to me through him time and time again through his patience.

So how do we have patience for the children God has given us to care for?  For me I have learned to realize that kids are kids.  They are not capable of being held to the same standards as adults, and they should not be either.  A child is going to make mistakes, and through that process of learning from them we can become an encourager as we extend patience, or a discourager if we extend something else.

Kids need us to love them no matter what!  Give them a hug when they ask for it, and show them they can mess up and still be loved.  Someone once told me to not "cry over spilled milk".  At first I had to think about this expression, because I didn't think I would cry over spilling milk myself.  But the challenge was not for me to not cry, but to understand if I respond out of patience and understanding the child that spills the milk will not cry themselves.  If my response is, "oh that's okay, let's clean it up together" as I extend patience to them, then they know that the mistake they just made is just that, a mistake and not a reflection of who they are. 

Patience comes in all shapes and sizes, but extending patience to the children in our lives is an example of love to those that receive it.  Remembering that life goes on; that this is not the end of the world; and that they can make mistakes too; are all messages that have helped me to remember to extend God's patience when I need to. 

I hope this will encourage you to extend patience to the children in your life that God has entrusted to you.  Because remember it is your relationship with them that demonstrates to them how they will in turn view God, and then extend patience to others.