A patient man has great understanding,
Proverbs 14:29, NIV84
but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
4,000 weeks! That is about how many weeks we have in life. It goes quickly. But how much of that short time do we waste by impatiently waiting for some moment in the future?
Maybe you find yourself waiting. You are waiting for summer to arrive. You are waiting to find that right person. You are waiting to retire. You are waiting to graduate.
We do a lot of waiting in life. At any moment you are likely waiting for something or other. But it is easy to get impatient with all the waiting. Sometimes we can be filled with such anticipation for something that is not yet, that we miss out on the what now.
I live in New Jersey. It is easy to get sucked into all the impatience around here. Life moves fast in this place. And impatience creeps in when we New Jerseyans are forced to slow down.
It is illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey. Every gas station has attendants to pump the gas for you. It is nice to not have to get out of your car on a cold January day. But attendants are not always attentive. Some stations are short of help. And you often have to wait to get your gas pumped.
It is easy to get impatient, frustrated, and angry when this happens. But getting frustrated and angry does not do you much good. It is not going to get your gas pumped any faster. And it is not going to make the attendant be more attentive to your needs. Could there be a better way?
Maybe you find yourself wishing you had some downtime. And here is the moment if you have eyes to see. It may only be a few moments while your gas is being pumped. But use those few moments to pray. Pray for the attendant who pumps your gas. Open up the Bible app on your phone. Turn on the radio to appreciate the music. Or just shut everything off and enjoy a few moments of silence. The point is to live in the moment and appreciate the moment for what it is. Take advantage of every moment God gives you. Impatience is not going to get us to where we are going any faster. It’s 4000 weeks. Make each one count!
I love this. It’s so true