Patience & Endurance...

In 1998 our family was forever changed.

My niece, Amber, was born.

She was the first of the grandchildren so she was destined to be spoiled.

She was the apple of our eye & the center of every visit.

Amber with her Daddy (my brother, Phillip) and his friend, Beavis at their college graduation.

She remained the only grandchild for 2 1/2 years until Isaiah joined the party. Isaiah was

 actually a month & a half old at the time of this picture & my sister in law, Amy, had just

 learned that she was pregnant with my second niece, Anna. We kept taking turns having 

babies, I suppose!

We enjoyed lots of "Amber-isms" as she learned to talk & communicate.

I have 3 that will forever remain my favorites.

The first is the fact that she referred to the Disney movie "Pocahontas" as "Pokey-honk-us."

To this day, I will always think of her when a reference is made to Pocahontas.

My second favorite & the inspiration for this blog was,

"Patience & Endurance!"

I think she picked it up from her mom, but if ever anyone was frustrated with something or fretful, 

Amber in her 2 year old voice would quickly chime in....

"Patience & endurance, An-shuh-shuh!

(That was another of her Amber-isms for how she pronounced my name! And it would be in my top 3 favorites!)

To this day, when my boys are aggravated, frustrated, anxious...whatever,

they will hear me respond with the phrase, "patience & endurance boys!"

These words have been ringing in my ears in light of all of the unrest in our surrounding world.

We are natured to always GO & DO!

What is all of that talk about being patient?

Ain't nobody got time for that!

And what of that word, Endurance?

I decided to consult the wisdom of our friends at dictionary.com to see what these words really mean.

According to them, 

Patience is the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay

quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.

Wow! 

I am not sure that being patient always sounds pleasant!

In fact, I think that true patience might even at times seem uncomfortable.

In the Bible, Proverbs 19 tells us that a person's wisdom yields patience & in 

Ecclesiastes 7, we see that patience is better than pride.

We are familiar with the common phrase that patience is a virtue. 

Patience is being able to conduct ourselves with calmness & wisdom in the midst of 

annoyance or in many cases, chaos.

Now, let's take a look at Amber's other word....Endurance.

Endurance is the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.

the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina

something endured, as a hardship; trial.

lasting quality; duration

Endurance sounds a bit overwhelming too!

Did you see the part where it mentioned trials & hardships?

The Bible refers to endurance as well.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, it mentions that endurance is inspired by hope in Jesus.

Patience & endurance often go hand in hand it seems.

Our family is in a place of learning these principles.

Being patient is not always easy & enduring trials is most definitely a challenge,

but our hope in Jesus continues to be made stronger.

Amber is now 15, yet her words spoken as a 2 year old, still ring true.

May you be encouraged today that whatever situation you find yourself in,

God is still there.

So, Patience & Endurance, my friends....

Our hope is in Jesus.