Patience

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Romans 12:12 (ESV)

Patience feels different when you are older. It is no longer about waiting your turn. It is about waiting with a history. Waiting while carrying memories of prayers you have already prayed for years. Waiting while knowing how long disappointment can last.

At this stage of life, patience is often tied to people you love. Adult children finding their own way. Relationships that cannot be fixed with advice. Situations where stepping back is wiser than stepping in, even when everything in you wants to rescue.

This kind of patience costs something. It requires surrendering the illusion that if you just do one more thing or say the right words, the outcome will change. It asks you to trust God with what matters most to you while your hands are empty.

Paul does not separate patience from tribulation or prayer. He places them together. Because patience without prayer becomes endurance fueled by anxiety. But patience anchored in prayer becomes trust that breathes.

Sketchy faith admits the ache of waiting. It says, God, I don’t like this. I don’t understand the timing. I don’t know how this will turn out. And still it stays. Still it hopes. Still it prays.

Patience is not about being calm. It is about being faithful while your heart is restless. It is believing that God is working in ways you cannot see, especially in the lives of those you love most.

Waiting does not mean nothing is happening. Often, it means God is doing something deeper than you could have asked for.

Personal action:

Today, name one situation you are waiting on and pray honestly, God, I release control and trust You with what I cannot fix.

Alycia Neighbours