“Love is Patient, But Are You?”
What does “wait” mean to you? What do you find yourself doing while you “wait”?
Over the past few days the word “patience” and the demand “be patient” have been prevalent in my life. I would see posts about being patient on Instagram. My heart would think about Bible verses on patience. And the whole time I’m wondering what this all means. I’ve always known that when we wait patiently we receive such beautiful gifts. But I’m not sure exactly why this message is showing up in my life now.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV
Last night, I reshared an Instagram post that says “don’t grow impatient and try to force open doors.” When I saw this I felt like the internet was screaming at me! I’m always trying to open, or I mean force open, doors in my own timing. I trust God and every thing He has planned for me, but sometimes it’s hard to know where the line is drawn. Is the opportunity here because God sent it? Was this the direction I’m supposed to move in? God guides and directs our steps, but He also gives us the power to choose. That’s why we sometimes fall even when we least expect it.
Have yall ever thought about an hourglass? Like what it is, when it was invented, how and why it works? As I’m sitting here in the couch enjoying my Saturday afternoon, not only was the word patience ringing bells in my head, but also the photo of an hourglass kept appearing.
An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the upper bulb to the lower one due to gravity. Typically, the upper and lower bulbs are symmetric so that the hourglass will measure the same duration regardless of orientation. The specific duration of time a given hourglass measures is determined by factors including the quantity and coarseness of the particulate matter, the bulb size, and the neck width.
I don’t know if an hourglass represents patience or waiting or being still, because the sand is constantly moving within it. But there’s something about it that gives me a visual that once the sand in this season of my life finishes funneling through to the other half of the hourglass, I’ll reap a beautiful harvest! But until then, I’ll be here actively patiently waiting.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
Moni Jay, Off the Record
