Ode to Patience

Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. Proverbs 16:32 NLT

Patience, you slay me

with your silence.

No answers, no exit, no relief

for months.

Yet every day you sit beside me

as we watch the sun rise again.

This trial of waiting

strips me dry.

I am weary, spent, drained

of newness

and my hope is dwindling.

You tilt your ear to the morning birdsong,

reminding me

of the flock’s long flight north

and God’s faithfulness in their journey.

You remind me of their limits,

their small size, their vulnerability.

Yet He carries them

on the wind currents

helping them find food

where I would never think to look.

No answers, no exit, no relief for months. Yet every day you sit beside me as we watch the sun rise again. Click To Tweet

But

what about the long days left?

The days when I am too seen,

scrutinized and pinned

like a wriggling beetle

under a microscope.

The days when I am unseen,

marginalized and excluded

because I matter as much

as a beetle creeping

under a bookcase.

I want to be thankful.

I want to be faithful.

I want to be patient.

But today it’s all too much.

Hot tears trickle

from the corners of my eyes.

“I can’t do this,” I say.

“I can’t stand this wait any longer.”

You cup my face in your hands

and I catch the scent

of your lovely fruit

as you whisper

I will carry you through.

It's better to be calm and nurturing than grasping for power.

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