Patience and Prayer

Posted by Ginger

Patience: Play n Pray's October topic

“Patience takes time to develop and we need to take the time to be patient.”

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As I was preparing for last week’s Mother’s of Young Children’s Play and Pray…I had no idea that my entire family and I  would get sick and be put to the patience test.  Nothing like a good thorough flu to stretch our patience.

In the mom’s group…patience is the October virtue that we reflect on.  So while I was preparing a little talk for the moms….I was highly aware of how that virtue of patience played out in my everyday.  As I prayerfully reflected on the topic,  I began to see my own areas of strengths and weaknesses.

While I was doing that digging…three areas were brought to my attention.

Prayer…sense of humor…and time
are the three elements that play a key part in learning about how to become more patient.  And each of those elements releases a certain gift that make patience attainable.

Prayer:  when my prayer life is going well, the gift of peace is what I generally receive.  When I remember to keep my sense of humor, the gift of laughter is given.  When I slow down and take my time through the tasks of motherhood, the gift of patience is felt. 

Prayer:  One of the most important ingredients needed in forming our children is Prayer!!!  Never under estimate the power of a praying mom!!!!

How we choose to spend our time as mothers is no easy task…in fact it can be very daunting.  Whether you volunteer in the school, work full or part time, coach a soccer team, run errands, sign your kids up for extra curricular things and then drive them all over town, clean your home over and over again, laundry - the list of a mother’s duties go on and on.  But they all have one thing in common and that is they all take time…lots of time.  No matter how you divide yourself, each task seems just as important as the next thing to do.  But the time you designate to prayer is so important and so forgotten sometimes.

To pray for your children is one of the most important things you can do for him or her.  It is also one of the most important things you can do for yourself…through prayer, you bless your motherhood.  What happens when you pray is God multiplies you.  I call it the fishes and the loaves.  In the gospel story…that little boy showed up and just gave to Christ all he had…

But he did give it to Him.  And Christ multiplied it. If you only have 10 minutes to spare for the Lord.  then begin there…and He will multiply you, I promise!!!

When we find ourselves anxious or worried about something, sometimes it can be the wrong thing we just get fixated on and we are so unaware that it really isn’t that important, but we just remain stuck.  Sometimes we do know that our circular thinking is crazy, but we have already headed down that path and we can’t get off that ‘crazy thought train”.  So we walk through our days anxious and worried.  There is no peace.  And when something goes wrong…as it always will with kids, even if it is just spilled milk.  We snap. Lose our temper and we yell.  You get the picture we become frazzled.  And when the moment of anger is over…we all say, “I wish I could be more patient,” 

I t is the most frequently whispered prayer of a tired mom…”I need more patience.” 

I say to God sometimes, “I’m praying Lord, but the patience isn’t coming.’

A lot of the times I need to do something practical to improve myself…like take a nap or rearrange my schedule.  But in sticking to the topic of prayer and how it relates to patience…everybody’s prayer life needs a little tweaking now and again. 

I used to have a prayer life where I would just ask God for things and His  help on the fly.  I felt like I was talking to Him all day long and I thought I was doing ok.  But in essence, I was treating God like a gumball machine.  I was always looking for that quick fix…that warm and fuzzy feel good consolation.  Like any good relationship  - it needs to go both ways. Talking to God is good, but devoting time for just you and God is even better.  Because then you get His message for just you, His love for just you, His direction for just you.  And pretty soon, His love that pours over you becomes your overflow.  You overflow with love, energy, desire, peace, gratitude, joy, understanding, compassion, laughter, ---the list goes on and on. 

As a mother – it is sooo easy to become depleted and prayer is the reset button for me. It is the gas that keeps me going.  When we pray as mothers, God floods us with His goodness and grace that we need to do our jobs for just that day.  He wants us to live in the moment as mothers. And as we know all too well that those moments go by so fast. So, as I see it, prayer is the glue to seal those moments with love. 

When you are hungry – you eat right?

Then how do we do the most important job ever given to us – without prayer, our spiritual nourishment? 

We stop to get gas.  We charge up our phones.  We sleep when we’re tired.

But when we start to snap, and lose patience, why are we not stopping to pray?

When you pray in the morning before your kids get up, it sets your day on the right foot.

When you pray mid day, it recharges you…to keep going. To persevere.

When you pray at night, it helps you reflect on how your day went and how you can do it better for the next day.

It doesn’t matter when you pray – just pick a time and a place that is best for you and your energy level during that time of day. And ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you pray.  My favorite opening line is…’God I am here and I need You to love me.”

There are two more key elements that I didn’t cover …sense of humor (my favorite) and time.  For the sake of time…I will make it for the next blog article.  God bless you.