patience

patience. Speaking of patience i accidently deleted the whole post and had to re-do it, I was mad to say the least. Anyways, patience is key. I hear that phrase a lot but really don't take into account what it actually means. But literally in every situation, if you don't have patience, you're asking for trouble. I've been struggling a lot lately with patience, and that's why I decided to write about it.

I'm currently having a HUGE patience issue. I have a bestie girl I'm mentoring/giving advice,leading/idk and we've been doing this a lot since Februaryish. We've gotten super close and the closer we get, the higher the expectations I have for her get. So when she does things wrong, it makes me upset (I don't like word mad bc yeah. But my problem is that I've told her a chunk of my wisdom, and I may not have haven't given it time to fully sink into her brain. So I get super impatient and wonder why she doesn't tell me things/talk to me about this stuff/basically change her whole lifestyle. In this relationship God has been teaching me patience, and I'm slowly but surely realizing it. I've got to be patient and give her time, and she has to realize what I'm trying to do in her life. So we're both kinda angry right now, and that makes me upset but I'll just let it work it's self out. So that's my patience story.

An absolutely incredible patience story is found starting in Genesis 37. And it's about sweet Joseph and his crazy coat of many colors. So basically Joseph is his father's favorite son. That's why he received the special coat of many colors from his dad. Except all of Joseph's bros hate him bc they're jealous. Joseph had these dreams that like everyone and even the stars in the sky worshipped him. He told his dad and bros that, and the bros got mad. They were so mad they decided to just casually throw him into a giant pit and strip him of his robe, but then better decided to sell him and make some profit. Bc what else would you do if you were jealous of you sib, right? Jk. So the brothers brought back Joseph's coat, that they had smeared animal blood on, to the dad and so the dad thought Joseph died. Plot twist: he isn't dead. Joseph was brought to Egypt to work for a wealthy man, Joseph worked super hard because he knew God had a plan. (Aka he was being patient and waiting for Gods call) so Joseph had to help the pharaoh out bc the pharaoh couldn't figure out what his dreams meant. He told the pharaoh to talk to God about it, and he will help you. So that happened and basically saved Egypt from terrible famine. That made the pharaoh so happy, he freed Joseph from slavery. He helped the pharaoh and became second in command of Egypt. Joseph then became wealthy and powerful (bc of his patience with God ALL of this happened.whoa) however, during this time Joseph's father and bros had like no food or money. So they all went to Egypt and a whole while later they realized Joseohs power over Egypt. And instead of doing something terrible (like most ppl would) Joseph had the heart to forgive his brothers. He even let the bros live in the wealthy palace. And they all lived happily in Egypt together. So if that doesn't show you patience, idk what will. During the entire time that Joseph was abused, he remained patient and trusted that God was going to provide, and he sure did.  

Everyone struggles with patience, even if it's and small as waiting in line to get food. It could be as big and not being able to provide for your family, and none of the jobs you apply for accept you. However, if you wait and be patient with God, he will ALWAYS provide. There is no greater thing than his love.

Have a great rest of the week!!!

From Starkville With Love, MCRAY