Virtuous Parenting: Patience

Hey yall! It's not always easy to be a patient parent is it? It is easy to get caught up in the everyday chaos of things. We as parents get overwhelmed with the diaper changing, time outs, and the messes we have to continually clean up. We become easily frustrated and sometimes lose our patience with our children. I say this because I have been there to. I remember when we first brought our second child home from the hospital. My husband worked five days a week and wasn't ever really able to help out with the kids at night or anytime for that matter. I was by myself most of the time with a three year old who was in constant need of attention and a colicky newborn who was helpless. After about a month of no sleep I pretty much had no patience left. I was quick to throw my hands up and say I just can't take this on many occasions. It was one of the hardest times I have encountered as a parent.

 I'd like to talk with you today about patience. I'm sure we have all heard that saying "Patience is a virtue." It's true and it's one of the most important virtues a parent can have. The Bible talks about patience in several verses. The one that stands out to me the most is 2 Peter 3:9.

 2 Peter 3:9 (N I V) ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

This really resonates with parenting for me. Just think for a moment with me about the patience of God. He waits for all of us no matter how long it takes. For some of us it can take our whole life to realize we need Him. Can you imagine what it must be like to have patience of that nature?  If we can have patience with our children just as The Lord has patience with us we would see such a change in our outlook on parenting. We should just take the few minutes to breathe and relax when we are drowning in the chaos. Try to take the time to remember we only want to positively affect our children. We need to practice waiting patiently and finding the grace we need for the moment we are in. 

I challenge you to practice being mindfully patient this week. If you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed just acknowledge it. Step back and take a minute or even a second to yourself. Remember patience is a virtue and a virtue is something you have to work at in order to master it.

Has there been a time in your life when you have struggled with patience? Do you have any advice on how to be a patient parent? Please feel free to share with us in the comments!