Daily Hope for the Empty NestSample

Patience

One of the hardest things to do is wait. During the time when my kids were growing up, there was so much waiting. Waiting for the kids to get home from school. Waiting to take them to practice or activities. Waiting around at those events to take them home. Waiting for them to go to bed. Waiting for them to go to sleep. Waiting for them to wake up and get out of bed. Waiting for them to get ready for school. Then doing it all over again. It was a vicious cycle!

When we are forced to wait, we have two choices for passing the time. We can either be patient, and have a good attitude while we are waiting, or we can become impatient. The same amount of time is going to pass; the only difference is how we choose to react and behave.

In the empty nest season, we are waiting for entirely different things. We wait for our kids to call (or text). We wait for the next opportunity to spend time with each of them, or for the next family gathering. We wait for our kids to choose a career or perhaps plan a wedding, and for many of us, we wait for the birth of grandchildren. These decisions are out of our control, so we must wait.

In today’s scripture, we discover a great message in the book of Psalms. We are reminded of the goodness of the Lord, as we ultimately develop patience in this life while we wait for Him.

Prayer

Dear God, please help me become better at WAITING! Remind me to enjoy every moment as I cultivate a spirit of patience. Amen.

Exercise

When you feel yourself becoming impatient while you’re waiting for something (or someone), take a deep breath and count to ten.