Watch out! Hey, you took my place! I can’t believe that guy cut me off like that! Can you believe she took the last Kitchen Aid Mixer! I wanted the purple one to match my kitchen and she took it. Uggh! That was MY PARKING PLACE! I can’t believe there are only two registers open. There are 100 people in each line. And the traffic….I can’t believe how many cars are on the road. And I can’t even think about going to Chick-fil-a because there are 70 cars in line and each one is ordering and paying for several separate orders individually. I guess I’ll just go get a frozen biscuit from the grocery store and just microwave it.
Ever been there? As much as I like Christmas and the decorations and lighted angels tied to the electric poles lining the streets, sometimes people just drive me crazy. Let’s be hones with each other. Sometimes, our patience just runs thin. The closer we get to Christmas, the more our kids fight. The closer we get to Christmas, the more there is to do. The closer we get to Christmas, the more tired we become. The closer we get to Christmas, the less patience we have.
What tries your patience? I imagine the same things that try your patience on a regular basis also try your patience more at Christmas. I believe there are several reasons we struggle with patience at Christmas.
We are Self-Centered
There is no way that anyone else’s time is more important than ours. When we look at others, we see them as the obstacle between the cash register and us. We should look at others as if they are more important than us. As we do, our perspective changes.
We take things too seriously
I think this happens more often than not. There are times when we just need to sit back and remind ourselves that laughing and not sweating the small stuff is an important practice.
We have too much to do and too little time
Most of the time this is our fault. We fail to plan ahead and so things get so rushed as the 25th approaches. When we get to this point, we lose our patience.
We never really developed patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit.
As we mature in Christ, we begin to display the fruit of the Spirit. I would encourage you to grow in Christ and develop patience.
As Christmas approaches, let me encourage you to display the fruit of the Spirit in your life…especially patience!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).