To Do or To Be? Part 1
The driver behind me honked his horn as the light turned green. Apparently, the gray SUV at the intersection had not moved fast enough to suit him. Once 
in motion, and apparently in a hurry, he passed me and changed to the left lane. After a few feet, he drove back to the right. I wondered what he had to do that called for a rush. We both exited and turned into a shopping center parking lot. With plenty of available spaces we parked at the same time. Where did impatience take him? Maybe one minute ahead of me. We all have things to do, people to see, and places to go. I’m not sure if impatience gets us there faster, nor if we make a pleasant appearance with our arrival.
One of my to-do projects last week, was cleaning out a filing cabinet. I was overwhelmed with the endless pile of stuff I no longer found useful in the past eight years. Once I had my personal green light to purge and clean, I admit I mimicked the driver’s impatience when my progress wasn’t moving fast enough. That’s when I came across a reminder of the lesson my anonymous driver, (who by the way walked into the same supermarket as I) and my exasperation with my never-ending task, showed me.
Stuck in a file folder, was a card that read: Be patient. 
I let that thought-instruction-command-visual reminder-sink in and more carefully continued my task. That’s when I found an email dated May 7, 2004 (I told you I had a big job) from a former student. That year was my last semester teaching at a Christian college before I began a new season of writing. He described how he grew academically, but this is what caused me to tear up:
Coming into the school year, I was never a religious person. But being surrounded by the Word of God all the time at this college took its toll on me. More than anything, your class, because every day we prayed together and showed love toward one another as I have never seen that before. The love and trust shown in class made me want to learn more and more about Jesus and now I have Jesus in my heart, and I am happier than ever. I want to thank you personally for bringing me closer to God and I wish you the best in what you do after teaching. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for our class. Thank you and God bless you!
[Tweet “What would I have lost had I impatiently grabbed file folders and thrown them in a trash bag?”]
Let’s not do impatience, but become, and be patient.
Patience is a tall order. We want to rush and get to our destination or the next item on our to-do list. In our effort we fall short until we look at how, found in Galatians 5: 22-23 (ESV): “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. “
It’s not our doing but in the Spirit’s strength we can move to becoming and being patient.
Once I dried my eyes thinking of the opportunities God had given me in my teaching, I slowly finished cleaning out my cabinet. I reorganized and often stopped to reminisce, lingering at teaching notes and reading dated newsletters before I tossed papers in the trash. With patience and a trash bin half full, my project took two days. When I finished, I thought about the lessons I learned-the treasures I found and what patience gave me. I also thought about that impatient driver and wonder if he chose self-checkout to avoid a long line.
What about us? How many times do we choose self-checkout in life? Where has patience reminded you how glad you are you didn’t rush? Lots to discuss today. Please share with us.
Next time we’ll consider other accessories that contribute to pleasant drives and our appearance when we arrive at our destination.
The Conversation
Even in the very rural part of the country I live in, I’m always amazed at how many people will rush to get ahead of you. Then, they’ll cut in front of you sharply as those exasperated that you would be driving at the posted speed limit. I always try and throw up a quick prayer to “keep them safe Lord” and wonder if there’s a medical emergency, etc. I often chuckle when I see them stopped by the four-way stop in Birthright, TX and I pull up right behind them. I ask them, in my mind of course, “was all that worth it?” Of course, I’m guilty of being in such a hurry to get something done that I make mistakes too. That only costs us more in the end. Am going to enjoy this series of posts ma’am. Now hurry up and post the next one. 😀 LOL Have a blessed week ma’am.
This is such a big truth for us to remember, but such a hard one some days! It seems we’re always about “busy, busy, busy” and “hurry, hurry, hurry.” But no matter how much we feel like we’re getting done by hurrying to knock things off the list, we miss so much along the way. Thank you for the reminder, my friend, and I’m glad you found so many treasures along the way. 🙂
I enjoyed reading your article. As I have purged many study notes, prayer lists, and other files, I have often found hidden treasures. It seems we can’t save everything but surely there must have been a reason to have saved it in the beginning. With that being said, our families will have lots to clean out.
Thank you Shirley for joining the conversation. You are right about the major clean-out Our families will have a big job. I’m hoping they’ll stop long enough to see we’ve had a rich life with many facets and seasons of people and places. Marilyn
Notes I received from students over the years are so precious to me. The one you found as you were purging the file cabinet made the effort worthwhile, I think. Patience is definitely a virtue and I’m so glad God has shaped me into a more patient and loving person so I’m no longer always in a rush. We’re so blessed to have a Father who answers our calls for help.
[…] time we talked about becoming and being, rather than rushing and doing. You can click here to read about our focus on patience. As promised, let’s take a look at other life qualities […]
[…] this series on doing and being, let’s begin then, asking, what do we do with our […]