Are Patience and Hope Cousins?

 

To teach a child to be patient is a real challenge generally. Children are all different, but patience is so hard. Learning to wait is so necessary, because as an adult we find we have to wait for many things. How do we learn to wait? One of my grandson’s teachers worked on her class to help them learn how to behave when they were waiting in line especially. When she handed out things in the classroom, she taught them to “Take What You Get And Don’t Throw A Fit.”  They all could and did quote her often. I can think of adults I’ve met through the years who can’t do that consistently. I include myself in that.

 

As one of five siblings, we learned waiting early on. At the supper table, at Christmas, getting into the car to go somewhere. It’s different now. People have no patience for anything but what they want. The prayer is “Lord, give me patience and I want it right now.” Every now and then i see people looking after others and I feel better about patience. 

 

We hope for change in our society going onward to where people respect life in general and treat others like they would hope to be treated themselves. Hope is a constant if we look for it daily. HOPE stands for Hold On, Pray Expectantly. We are to pray like we hope something is going to happen.