3 ways to be patient when things are in the process
I like things fast and immediate. The cheetah was my favorite animal growing up because of how fast it could run. I quit baseball when I was in tee-ball because it was too slow. Then I decided to play soccer because the activity never ended. I get frustrated when I don’t have adequate mobile phone service or if the internet connection takes more than 30 seconds to load.
I like things right now, and I don’t like to wait. What about you? It isn’t often you meet someone who loves to wait in lines. We get bored with waiting too and often pull out some sort of device to distract us from actually being present in the waiting and the process.
No one, really, likes to wait.
And yet, so many things take time.
It takes time for kids to grow. It takes time for a marriage to flourish. It takes time to make a house into a home. It takes time for wounds to heal. It takes time to build lasting friendships. It takes time to mature physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Still, we don't like to wait. I think it’s inherent—a part of the world that was broken when sin entered into it. Our hurried state doesn’t pair well with process and waiting.
How can we learn to embrace the process, slow down, wait and allow things to take the necessary amount of time? Here are three suggestions:
1. Recognize the best things take time
There is a big difference between eating a sandwich at a fast food restaurant and eating an expertly crafted, perfectly prepared steak from an upscale steakhouse. There is no comparison. Yet, one can be done in under 60 seconds and the other will take some time.
Have you ever tried to warm up bread (or even pizza) in the microwave? It gets that weird, spongy texture to it. Warming it up in the oven takes more time, but preserves the flavor and texture of the original product.
When we try to shortcut something, the end result is often not what it could or should be. The result is something finished, but finished with haste and not a whole lot of attention to detail (like cramming at midnight for a final exam the next day.
The best things take time, and that is OK. It’s even good! If we had everything we wanted immediately, we would take so many more things for granted. The best things take time.
2. Commit to learning in the process
We begin to develop a better perspective when we understand we are always in-process.
We often learn more while we are in the process than when we reach the destination. It's in the process where we mature, develop, change and are transformed. The finished product doesn’t exist without the process beforehand.
Take time to slow down and learn something every day you are in the process. It could be learning something new at work, transitioning to a new job or city, starting a new season of life or wrestling through painful circumstances.
Don’t let the process pass you by. Learn all you can along the way.
3. Understand that process can still be progress
Sometimes the process can feel like a waiting room. But, while we're in the waiting room, things are still happening.
If we recognize the best things take time and commit to learning in the process, then we can move forward toward a breakthrough.
Process is still progress. We must learn to embrace the process in order to learn what we should and enjoy where we are. Don’t miss out on the growth and potential possible in the process.
Photo source: istock
 | Ben Marshall is a Pastor at Pathway Church in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He works with teenagers and young adults. He is passionate about leadership and raising up the next generation of biblical leaders. He is a blogger, guitar player and sports enthusiast. Ben currently resides in Beaver Falls with his wife Connie and their two daughters, Aliya and Sophie Learn More » |
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