I’ve just returned from a very relaxing week in our caravan at Rosemarkie, in the Black Isle. Relaxing - that is apart from one minor detail – knowing that I still had this article to write. I’ve put this off for weeks which is typical of me; knowing there’s a difficult task ahead I stuck my head in the sand and assured myself that I’d get round to it due course. So here I am 48 hours till the deadline and I’m only beginning!
Back to the Black Isle, I felt sure that somehow a theme would present itself and sure enough when I started to relax a seed of an idea came about. This may not seem surprising to many of you given the beautiful scenery and peaceful surroundings but to those who know me well you’ll know I’m strictly a “numbers girl”
The Moray Firth is famous for its dolphins and I was staying less than a mile from Chanonry Point which is a great spot for viewing these beautiful creatures. Everyday my friend and I trudged along the beach in the hope of seeing the dolphins. What I hadn’t bargained for was the number of people who had had the same idea – there were so many. Many of these watchers had large cameras with high-speed speed lenses ready to capture the dolphins; they also had one other tool in their kit – patience! They stood for hours waiting for a glimpse however brief of these beautiful creatures. I’m afraid; my
However, the patience of the photographers did set me thinking and hence the title.
Are you blessed with patience?
Try “Googling” patience and see what you find – I was amazed by the number of “finds” the search engine uncovered. What did we do before computers?
I came across this quote which I really liked, "Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience."
If I take that as the definition of patience then I still have some way to go.
In Colossians 3:12-14 Paul speaks of patience " You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another when any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord had forgiven you. And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity".
If we’re clothed with patience, we can absorb life’s irritations and annoyances just as a good thick towel absorbs splatters and spills.
We all know people who are short-tempered: people who lose patience quickly and blow up in anger.’s most distressing when you realise that you are like that; how many times have you told yourself to count to 10 before responding. I have to do that most days and it’s the one piece of advice I can hand on to others without being hypocritical. I’ve come to learn that patience has to do with having a fairly long fuse, being able to absorb life’s annoyances without exploding in anger.
A Message from the Session Clerk