Day Three: Peace and Patience

     To be honest with you all, I'm not a big expert on peace. I can write more easily on love, joy, etc., so to warn you ahead of time, I am learning a LOT in the process of writing this!!
      One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 14:33a "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." I find me saying this to myself when I am in a state of confusion, or not understanding. When I'm not really sure what to do in certain situations, I remind myself that God is NOT a God of confusion, but of peace, and it usually calms me down, and helps me to realize I need to put my situation(s) in His hands!
      I actually have a story to tell, and it may be relevant, and it may not, but it was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. One time, I was laying in bed as usual. Now this was quite a few years ago, I was eight or nine. I was laying in bed, and Johanna (probably about 4 years old) was being really annoying, and loud and disrupting Danielle and I! Of course, my mom had to come in and settle her down, but in the midst of all the chaos around me, I felt a sudden peace. It grew in the pit of my stomach, and felt warm and nice. I was suddenly happy, despite the fact that before I was really annoyed with Johanna. The one way I could describe this feeling was---- peaceful. It was a state of peace that I had never really experienced before.
      This was so many years ago, I don't exactly remember all the details, and I don't know if I was just exaggerating, or if God put peace in my heart at that moment, because I'm human and I make mistakes, but it sure felt like something from God! I don't exactly know why He would have given me peace in that moment, but it really gave me a better understanding of peace, even though I was only nine!
      I think that peace is an underlying feeling or emotion we Christians should have! Have you ever just walked into a fellow Christians house and felt peace? I have! It's not something we can obtain ourselves, but through prayer, His Word, and loving God and other, we can develop this peace in our lives!

      Next... patience. Patience is something that is almost mandatory to have when you have a large family. So I admit, I have a little more patience to some extent when outside the family than I would if I didn't have a large family, but patience is something that God has been working on in me!
      I actually have a really neat story to tell about this. Once, me and my mom got into a discussion about prayer. She mentioned that when you pray for things (such as patience) God will bring situations in your life to practice your patience, not just automatically grant it to you! Well, I decided to test this out, and every night I would pray for patience. Always, the next day, I situation would occur were I could have used patience, but blew it off, because I'd forgotten the fact that patience was something I was working on and praying for! One night, I finally decided to ask God to send me a little reminder, or a little nudge in the right direction when He brought a situation in my life where I could practice my patience.
      The next day, we went to go visit my aunt who lives in Minnesota, and sure enough, with all the excitement of traveling and seeing my aunt who I hadn't seen in awhile, I totally forgot my prayer the previous night! Later that night, we went out to a Mexican restaurant, and Danielle and I were super hungry. You know how restaurants always, always ALWAYS take forever to bring you food? I'm not kidding, this place took about 3x that long... and it wasn't even that busy in there!!!!! Anyway, Danielle and I were getting to the end of our ropes.
      "Whheeeenn are they gooinnng to beee heeerrreee??? They are taking forever!!!"
       Danielle complained, as she held her growling stomach.
       "Yeah-"
       I started to agree and chime in with my complaint, when my aunt patiently responded. "Right now, we need to practice our patience. God brings moments like these, so we can learn to be patient throughout our life" Suddenly, my prayer last night came rushing back to my mind, and I wasn't so starving anymore. It was still hard to remain waiting to last 15 min. before they finally came with our food, but with my little reminder of my patience I was striving for, I was somehow able to concentrate on becoming patient.
       I learned two important lessons that night. 1) I am NEVER going that Mexican restaurant AGAIN!! (Hahaha, just kidding. :) ) 2) God always answers our prayers in His own timing, and that I have a looong way to go before I have perfected the act of patience. :)
      Now, this whole story was over a span of about 3 or 4 months, so don't expect to ask God for a reminder, and for it to happen every time!! (Trust me, I've tried, haha!!) I've learned that God works in ways that are the most efficient in His timing, even when it doesn't seem convenient for us, He knows the qualities we are striving for, and if we are really devoted enough (cause He sees our heart!), God will bring opportunities in our lives.
      I'd better get on to more about patience, I've been rambling on about my story and prayer, haha!! Honestly, I am probably the least patient person ever. I probably would be even less patient, if I didn't have a large family that requires me to learn to have patience, and that test me on this quality specifically, daily! So, me writing this is mainly me trying to learn more about the subject of patience, and change this in my life!
      Philippians 4:6 states:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
      We need to patiently wait for His timing in our lives, and to pray!! I think one of the best things to do, is to look to Him and not towards our earthly possessions... easier said than done, I know, hahaha!! I tend to get anxious and overly excited about things! But this is one of the things God has been working on in my heart!!
      Proverbs 15:18 says: A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. and James 1:19 agrees:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 
      It's really easy when you're frustrated, preoccupied, or even doing nothing at all to respond to siblings, parents, and sometimes even friends with harsh, or sharp tone/attitude. This is the biggest area of patience for me, that I need to work on in my life. It's not easy to respond patiently with a humble and loving attitude, especially when you're having a rough day! It takes a lot of patience, and even self-control to regroup yourself and to tell yourself "It's okay. Calm down. There's no need to get frustrated, rude, or cranky!"
      Like I've been mentioning, I don't have it perfect. I am working on obtaining peace and patience, so this post is more of me trying to encourage myself and you guys, that you're not alone, and to keep trying!!
      I congratulate you on making it this far in this lengthy post. I hope you enjoy!!
~~Katie~~