Patience may be a virtue….but not for me. Too often I want it…and I want it now!

It is sad, but true, that patience usually becomes an issue during a crisis or difficult time in our lives. Patience, or as Webster defines it, the ability to remain calm when dealing with a difficult or annoying situation, task or person, is not easy for most people.

And then along comes the Covid-19 pandemic.

I have patiently learned to wear a mask, even when I don’t want to and find it uncomfortable. I have patiently learned to wait in lines, six feet apart. I have patiently waited for Chik-fil-a to open their dining rooms again, their drive through lines are getting to be a little much (I will patiently work on that too!).

I have struggled with not going to the hospital when church members and friends are there. I have struggled with social distance memorial services, when being close to each other is such a benefit. I have struggled with technical difficulties trying to keep our worship services online. I have struggled with not seeing my friends at the Orchards and the Summit.

And, yet, through it all I have gained.

I have been blessed in my worship experience. Although the technical demons have haunted us, we have been able to both here and there. It is fun and a real blessing as one by one the North River family starts to gather again. It kind of reminds me of heaven—one by one we gather for the greatest worship of all.

I have been blessed by being with family more. Instead of a restaurant we now gather at my house for Sunday dinner. It reminds me of some days gone by, gathered around the table Sunday after church with our family and friends. The blessings that have been–help us create blessings for today.

I have been blessed by just being patient. Not something I do well, but something of a necessity for this time and place. Realizing that God is still at work even when our normal functions have changed.

Being patient can be a struggle, but it can also produce blessings beyond measure.

This is my story…