About patience

A few days ago I was catching up with a friend over text message (anyone else rarely talk on the phone with anyone other their mom, and occasionally mother in law?). She asked (as some people do every time they talk to me... maybe expecting a different answer?) if we are still set on homeschooling next fall, and when I said yes, she said she doesn't think she has the patience home school...

This is one of the comments I get the most when it comes to home schooling,  and it doesn't surprise me at all... You see,  I too once believed I wasn't patient enough, nor smart enough, nor organized enough...the list goes on... And you know what, these are all lies!

The truth is, though we may not feel qualified at the time, God will always equip us to fulfill our calling. For our family, homeschooling is our next step, it's where God is leading us. But this is not a post about home schooling, its about patience. 

Patience is not only a Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which means it's already in us, I think patience is also like a muscle. When I first started working out, I wasn't as strong as I am now (almost 4 years later), I didn't have as much endurance as I have now, my core muscles were weak (especially after having 3 kids in 4 years). Yet by working hard, I have built endurance, by pushing my body to the limit and then some, making micro-tears in my muscles and bones, my body has become stronger, thus making me physically and mentally stronger. I think the same is true for patience... I mean, there's a reason why people say "never ask God for patience, because he will give you more opportunities to be patience"... I can tell you from experience, THIS IS SO TRUE! 

But why won't God just give us the patience? If our God is all good and almighty, why make us work for it? It's because He loves us! If we could just change the way our body looks without working out, we would look a certain way, but we would not gain strength nor have as much endurance, we would not grow . If God just gave us the patience we need, instead of having us work on it, we will have patience, but we would miss the opportunity to become wiser and grow in faith. 

"Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance." Rom 5:3 AMP

So I choose every day to reject the lie that I am not qualified. 

I declare by faith that that the Fruit of the Spirit is already in me.

I choose to trust that God will not call me to something He has not prepared me for. 

And I can already see how God is working in me. 

Will it be easy? No! Will it be worth it? Absolutely!