It is very strange that the years teach us patience - that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting. Elizabeth Taylor, "A Wreath of Roses"
Our friend Dan at Yesterday Once More is doing a word a week. Every Monday he will give us a new word. I have fun trying to guess his next word. So far I am batting a 100. As far as writing though I am behind. This week passed before I could sit down and write about his word this week which is Patience.
Dan wrote the best post about patience so that will be hard to follow.
We all have our own meaning for patience and so I looked it up in the dictionary to see if it was close to what I think it means.
Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.
Honestly I think patience is one of the first things a child should be taught. I only wish that when I was younger that I had known the importance of patience.
If you think about it living with patience makes ones life so much easier. When your a child and waiting on things to happen you get angry at your parents, teachers or friends.
As you age you slowly connect closer to what is really important in life and you see everything a lot different. That is why I chose the quote by Elizabeth Taylor. I have found the older I get the more patience I have for a lot of things. Have you noticed even Ms Pearl is learning Patience.
For example just a little over a week ago while Gary was in the hospital and he was in serious trouble with his heart they sent in a Chaplain to talk with me and Sherry.
I had just found out that Sherry and Gary were married. It was upsetting to be told by a stranger they were married. They were moving Gary to another hospital so the Chaplain walked me downstairs to catch a cab..
It just happened that Sherry was walking ahead of us and she seemed mad and upset at everything including probably even me and the Chaplain. The Chaplain turned to me and asked what would I like for her to pray for me. I looked at the Chaplain and said "Patience!"
She turned to me and smiled and said "I can understand you asking for that prayer. Good choice Maggie!"
It was a good choice because at that moment I needed more patience in my life that I could muster up on my own. I need the help of God to keep my mouth shut and of course Ms. Pearl's mouth. lol
Patience when I was younger would of saved me a lot of pain. I think back of how busy I was when my children were growing up and I worked two and three jobs which probably caused me to have little patience at the end of the day for the things in my life that really counted. Patience with raising three small children never showing them anything but the best side of you.
So join me in learning patience. I think it is the one thing our world needs more of. What do you think?
I wanted to thank all of you for leaving me such beautiful comments about Forrest. It has been hard the last few days trying to accept that she is no longer going to be around waiting patiently for her next hug or bone. Forrest would of been a great teacher of patience because I watched her with Tinkerbell and even though Tinkerbell loathed her coming inside the past month Forrest ignored her and just laid on her bed. She just watched as Tinkerbell pulled her little tricks and fits trying to get her to go outside. Never once giving Tinkerbell the time of day. hahaha
Now that is patience! So how do I teach a cat patience?
Love to all
Maggie
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24 comments:
Maggie, I hope that you were able to have your prayer granted.
That is a great word for the week.
I am going to ponder on that one as well. I sure could use a bit more.
Hope you are taking care of you and that Gary is doing better.
YOU are in my prayers.
it amused me that you looked up the meaning, "because
we all have our own definitions of the word."
no wonder we are all mad at each other. no one even has
the same understanding of our language! :)
patience is a gift that can be cultivated but just comes
easier to some. one may be naturally more patient but
could use more enthusiasm or zeal!
thanks for making me think!
I think they say patience is a virtue. It is such a simple word but often times hard to muster up. I am going to make a conscious effort to practice more patience this week.
Thank you Maggie!
Hugs, Sue
You know, Maggie...the older I get the more patience I have too...and I suddenly understand why they say older people have wisdom! Your quote from E. Taylor is right on...but then I have been to many retirement facilities where people are just waiting to...die. Instead of making the most of every minute, they are wasting it waiting...too much patience! I guess there is a fine line between calm (patient) living laced with quality of each moment or being so angry with life and out of control as to waste it away. I hope that my mother's prayer for "quality of life" living will be something that sees me through the rest of mine.
Good post Maggie!!
Hi Maggie,
Patience is such a wonderful virtue and one that I think we all need to exercise in this busy life.
Sorry to hear about Forrest.
Sending my love and prayers to you and Gary.
Hugs
Carolyn
Getting older has benefits. We understand that "to everything there is a season". I feel that we have more patience because we've found out the hard way, through the years, what's really important. What's really worth getting upset over and what's not worth the effort. Many things are out of our control. God's time and our time don't usually mesh and I have faith that He'll help me get through that until it is His time...So I guess that is patience in my words.
I am soooo sorry about Forrest! So sorry I did not know or come by til now! Know I am praying for you!
As for patience....I am clearly a big work in progress in that area...it appears GOD has HIS work cut out for him with me.
Love, hugs, and prayers,
andrea
Oh, I meant to ask you. Have you heard of or checked out "Clear?" It is an internet service owned by Google that has UNLIMITED access for a set fee and it is not over the top expensive! I know you have internet issues sometimes...Doug and I are considering changing to this, b/c I could get mobile unlimited access for my laptop, etc., too! It seems to be a better way to go. We are looking at other options that will decrease costs, but give us the services we need/want!
I've obviously missed an important post and shall be scrolling down in a minute. Patience seems to be harder the older I get. Wish I had had it when my girls were young. I'm so sorry for all that you're going through. Try to keep Ms. Pearl in rein and then go home and go outside with a hammer and pound something.
Brenda
Life continues to teach me patience, and I've had lots of experiences that seem to be tailor-made for helping me acquire more of that trait.
I do see progress, but there's still some work to be done!
=)
I have to confess that patience is not one of my best virtues. God has worked on my over many years in this area. My patience seems to be as spastic as I and I want everything 'yesterday'. What can I say...I'm a work in process.
Sweetie, know that I'm so prayin' for Gary and you my friend!!!! :o)
Patience is TRULY a virtue and yes, I do believe that as we age it gets somehow easier. However, I have often said that I am an impatient patient. I just seem to have problems when I get sick. I have no patience for that, so I keep praying for it. We do often have bad days along with the good, and when the bad ones come, I just need to ride it out and not drive myself crazy! All we can do is to keep working on it.
Hope things are better for you, Maggie. Thanks for your comments on my blog. I appreciate it and I find that it is really neat to know that I have new friends out there that are coming to mean a lot to me.
Cats can teach US patience, but I doubt if it works the other way around!
Maggie, I really enjoyed reading your post this evening and it sure has some food for thought.
Luckily, I was gifted with a lot of patience and I think that patience and humility goes together. I hard to be patient without a bit of humility.
I hope that you have some great things happening for you this week.
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. HUGS, JB
oh, that is a hard one to learn!!!
LOL thats one thing the good Lord has been trying to teach me all my life! ;D
The perfect post for me today. I need patience...right now!
lol
So sorry to hear about Forrest. Praying for you and Gary.
*hugs*deb
G'morn, sweet Maggie ~
When I get it down pat, I'll let you know how to do it ... chuckle.
Every day is a struggle & the older I get the more patience I have ... but it hs been a constant effort to learn how to incorporate it within my life, lmty. Praying for the strength to find patience, is a daily request ... may God continue to teach me how ...
Will call you this week, my precious friend. You are such a jewel in life, Maggie, truly you are.
Have a beautiful day filled with love ~
Always hugs, Marydon
Dear Maggie,
honey it was such a treat hearing from you. Your taking time to drop over to FOREVER JANN and leave me the kind comment just give me such a nice smile. It has been too long since we chatted. Certainly was good visiting your blog again and reading all your musings about patience. Have another good week ahead and all happiness for you.
The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm & hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds, rains & the scorching sun. -Napoleon Hill
Wonderful post Maggie. I must have missed it but did Gary and his wife explain why the secret? Strange.
Patience can be overdone. One can spend a lot of time waiting instead of acting. I haven't found the balance yet though lean towards patience as it is the least stressful way for me.
I am so glad I found your blog. Let me tell you, I am so sorry about your dog Forest. That is so sad. I have a ton of animals and know just how hard it is to lose one. Lots of hugs to you.
Also I love your post about patience. That is one thing I have learned so well having to tame all the feral kitties that have moved in with me. But it is a wonderful asset to have and I wish that I had had it when I was younger. Oh well. Take care.
Maggie~
What a beautiful post! Thank you for participating in my word of the week. I really appreciate it. I will join you in your prayer for patience. It is something we all could have more of. I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!
Love Ya,
~Dan~
I needed to read this, especially today. I'm for the most part a patient person, but not when it comes to health problems, like I am struggling with now. But it is so true like you say that the older we get and the less time we have, the more patient we know how to be. Love that Elizabeth Taylor quote.
Beautiful post sweet Maggie. Some of what I have been through to learn to be patient was not any fun at all, but I am thankful that those times have taught me to be patient. Still praying for you and Gary to be all well. Love and hugs my sweet friend.
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