Hurry up...I gotta rush!! (Who ate all my fruit of the Spirit?)

The other day I walked into a local bank (which I won't name but if u really wanna know, gimme a buzz) and I was shocked to see the line was almost as long as from here to Australia. And to confound things, there were only two cashiers serving. Half an hour later I had barely moved as the line was trudging along at snail speed. What frustrated me even more was that there seemed to be more bank personnel walking around the bank than behind the tills. Maybe there were other important things that needed to be done but judging from the mumbling and whining coming from the other customers in the queue we all felt that, we as the customers were "king" and should have been receiving the speedy and efficient service which we rightly deserved.

During my 55 minutes of waiting, I behaved worse than a toddler having a tumtrum; I sighed louder than necessary, sucked my teeth viciously, gave the bank staff "killer looks" and impatiently tapped my nails and drummed my feet so hard I almost made a mark on the surfaces. Then when I got to the till, I didn't even get the courteous "sorry to keep you waiting" line or maybe I was so angry I didnt even hear it. I was fuming, I'm sure I even had smoke coming out of my ears...lol. However as I left I had to laugh at myself. Surely as a Christian I could have exercised a little more patience...but oh no I wanted to be served asap. Now before you start laughing at me, think back to a time when you may have been quite impatient, whether at work, home, in a shop or even when driving along a busy road.

At one time or another we all run out of patience or sadly for some they never had any in the first place. But when we do, we need to take a quick trip to the fruit market and get us some more fruits of the Spirit. I find that praying and asking God to help me to walk in the Spirit helps top up my virtues. For as the bible says when we "...walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16 (NKJV). But once you've prayed you don't suddenly become perfect, meditate on scriptures on patience, listen to sermons on the subject and take it a day at a time. Choose to respond in a better way whenever you're put in a situation where you have to wait.

When I get stuck in traffic these days, I look at people walking around and sometimes I feel led to pray for some of them. One particular day, a woman walked past and as I studied her I noticed that one of her shoes had a huge hole in the sole. I wondered whether she was having financial problems and started praying for her to know Jesus if she didn't already and also for God to help her in her time of need.  Before I even finished the traffic had started moving. Well that was 5 minutes well spent, instead of imagining whether the pavement could be used as an extra lane to beat the traffic...lol

As someone once said, "Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting." So I urge you next time you find yourself running out of patience, relax, pray and smile. It may not necessarily get you want you want quicker but it will make the journey less frustrating.