Fruit of the Spirit - Patience

<p>Good morning, Five Minute Families. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Today in our series about the Fruit of the Spirit, we will be discussing patience. Do you ever find yourself frustrated in traffic? What about being irritated with a family member that seems to move at a snail’s pace? Patience is oft-discussed and highly encouraged. Yet, still, patience eludes many of us. As a fruit of the Spirit, it is clearly an attribute of God, which means that we and our families can exhibit patience more than we think we can.</p><p>I am not a patient person in my fleshly nature. Jim is patient, however. Thankfully. I have long struggled with figuring out the ‘why’ of my impatience. If we better understand the types of patience, we can understand the why of impatience. Psychologist Sarah Schnitker has discovered three main types of patience: interpersonal patience, patience in life’s hardships, and patience for daily hassles. And, wouldn’t ya know, God already knew that, and His word addresses all three.</p><p>Well, I’m not really that patient… </p><p>For interpersonal patience, which is our patience with people around us, especially ones we have a relationship with, God gives us Ephesians 4:2, “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love.”</p><p>For patience in life’s hardship moments (or seasons), we need long-term patience, typified by perseverance. Here we have Romans 12:12. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”</p><p>And, for patience in daily life’s minor annoyances, we need the ability to be calm. Proverbs 16:32 states, “One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city.” The CSB explains the concept of the verse this way, “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.”</p><p>Stress, fears, worries, and frustrations all seep in to our behavior with our loved ones, but HOW we handle those cata