The Art of Patience and Generosity
July 22nd, 2008
In this modern day and age, life gets hectic and days fly by. Before we know it, a week, a month or even a year has gone by. We wonder, where has the time gone? Stop and look at the world around you. Appreciate the beauty in your neighborhood instead of lusting after a pretty vacation spot. Help others when you notice they need a hand or a friend. Surprise someone for no reasons with a gift basket of food. Patience and generosity are two of the most important virtues we can hold true to.
Many people think patience is waiting a while to get what you want. This is part of patience, but another part is much deeper than that. Patience means acceptance of someone or something for the way they are or how it is. This type of patience has nothing to do with waiting and everything to do with accepting.
For example, my daughter is ADHD. She is high energy, loud, talks a lot, but a complete sweetheart. Many tire quickly of her never ending chatter and inability to sit still. I am one of the few people that have enough patience for her. This has nothing to do with the fact that I am her parent. There are lots of parents that would not be able to effectively handle an ADHD child.
Giving of yourself is another Christian virtue that is of the utmost importance. Generosity doesn’t always mean giving money, money, money. You can be generous with anything. Generosity means giving more than you normally would in any situation. You can practice generosity many ways.
Paying for your toll and the toll of the vehicle behind you is a great way to be generous on a daily basis. Presenting shut ins with food baskets or treating them to lunch out is another wonderful way to be generous. Time is a popular generosity tool. Giving your time away can help many people and is greatly appreciated.
When having patience and being generous, keep it to yourself. If you go bragging to the world how you were so patient with your Father-in-Law or how you helped an old lady with her groceries, the acts become gifts to yourself. You are receiving “honor from others” for your patience and generous acts. So do these and feel good inside. You, the recipient, and most importantly, God will know what you did.