“Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.”—Barbara Johnson
Last night was to be my son’s debut fight in MMA. His fight was cancelled. His opportunity is delayed another five weeks. I think he took it better than me. We attended the event and watched the rest of the card. I was disappointed. He took in the lessons he could learn to prepare for when his opportunity would come.
Our need to be patient appears in many forms. It almost always focuses our attention on the present—what we need to be learning to get to where we are supposed to go. Patience opens our eyes to our weaknesses and allows us time to prepare.
I have no doubt that my son was prepared for the fight that didn’t happen, but that is not as important as what lies ahead for him. He has more than a month to prepare for what will be his first appearance in the octagon. I believe there is a Purpose to the delay—which might never be fully understood. He continues to train and master his techniques (as well as learn new techniques) and strategies. He has the patience to wait for his opportunity.
We want what we want, and we want it yesterday. What we want and what we need are not always congruent. When we want what we want and when we get what we need rarely occur simultaneously. Indeed, we might never see the former.
Patience is weird. We want it. We want it now. However, we need patience to get patience.
Patience is labeled in the bible among the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These fruits can be seen both a gift and as the product of our effort—of cultivation. We cannot have patience without the opportunity to be patient. In such moments, we can idle our motor, or we can strip our gears. The choice is ours. As we wait….
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!!
