Passionate Patience

I was watching Fracture the other night and in it, a few lines from Dr. Seuss' book "Oh the Places You'll Go" are quoted and reminded me of this that I wrote last spring and thought I'd share it with you. First, here is the excerpt from the book:

"The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!"

And then I was reading 2 Peter (The Message version) and found this:

2 Peter 1:5 - So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

There are two words in the English language that, when coupled together, cause my heart to leap a little in my chest. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is that stirs my soul when I hear these words, but there is just something about it. Passionate patience. Chew it over in your heart awhile.

Passion. (n.) Fervency. Obsession. Zeal. Enthusiasm.

Patience. (n.) Quiet, steady perseverance. Even-tempered care. Diligence.

Passionate patience. It speaks of hope and struggle and determination. Waiting with intensity. Lingering with determination. Hoping with vigour.

I see a raft teetering on the edge of a waterfall, ready to plummet the full depth to the pool below, but held back by something unseen. I see the Church of Christ, excitedly anticipating His return. I see a man who puts aside his own desires for that of his love. I see a woman walking down the aisle in white.

"Waiting for the phone to ring, or the snow to snow; or waiting around for a Yes or a No; or waiting for their hair to grow."

We spend so much of our lives waiting, but how much of it do we spend in true passionate patience? Zealous purposeful endurance. Not endurance for endurance sake, but the kind of stamina that is birthed out of a Heavenly dedication to what is true, what is noble, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable. A lasting dedication to excellence. A lifelong commitment to ways and thoughts higher than one’s own.

But what does that REALLY look like, anyways? Passionate patience almost makes it sound like you have to be DOING something, but maybe less is really more, in this case. Maybe it all really comes down to simple trust in God. And in that simple trust, experiencing the completeness of what patience really means - surrendering everything to the One who can deal with it and exchanging all the fear and worry for excitement and anticipation. Maybe.

I think I've always had a bad taste in my mouth with the word "patience", simply because I am NOT a patient person. But, over the last 20ish years God has been slowly teaching me. And maybe, if I start thinking about patience as a passionate thing, an exciting thing, maybe it will be an easier lesson to learn.