Be a Turtle

Romans 12:12:  “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

The world we live in is a fast pace, need it now, all at once kinda universe. We tend to get used to the quick and upbeat movement of life and forget to pray for time so that we can rest. When it comes to individual characteristics that we have, patience is one that is lacking among people. Because of technology, everything is right here and right now, whenever we want it. Which isn’t always the best thing.

We don’t realize the importance of slow and precise steps in life. Taking the time to do something right is way more rewarding than quickly doing something only for it to turn out average. Take the turtle and the hare for example: “Slow and steady wins the race.” With patiences comes determination and focus. A teacher under the name of Lao Tzu exemplified the meaning of patience when saying “I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” I don’t think I can explain it any better than he can when it comes to things to value and strive to have in life.

I know its hard to wait for an answer, solution, reward, or action to be implemented in your life, but you’ve gotta try. Patience is defined as “The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” This is not an easy characteristic to excel in. Everyone says to take deep breathes if you’re feeling impatient, and while sucking in large amounts of air can be helpful, ultimately the only thing that is going to help you is repetitive practice and prayer. Some things you can do when your head is boiling for an answer or reward is take a step back and try and look from a different point of view. Look at what might be causing the delay, think of the person on the other end of the argument or conflict, look at external factors and try towait for the right timing to come. Open your bible and ask God to sit with you in the midst of your impatience and guide you towards being more willing to wait without anger or annoyance. No need to jump to conclusions or rush to get something figured out. Having patiences sometimes means showing grace and understanding in situations that might be hard. Impatient people only become more anxious and frustrated internally and life is too short to have that in your heart.

We should all be more like little tiny turtles. Be slow, roll with the punches, accept the unexpected while taking a lot of small steps in the right direction.

When life hands you lemons, just be a turtle.