Love is Patient 

I love this photo of the birds that live right outside our apartment. They sleep on two nails right above our entry door and in the morning they fly to these wires. I'm pretty sure, that in this photo, they're having a bit of a disagreement (of worms or some sort), and the bird to the left is giving the other bird the silent treatment. . . 

My neighbor had seen me taking photos of the birds and asked me to take some of her flowers. She's waited all year for them to bloom...now they're blooming in abundance! Her patience was paid off by the beauty these roses produced.

Now, I'm reading in Luke, (since my husband and I read Ezekiel together.) Chpt 4 is shortly after Jesus begins his ministry, he is tempted in the desert, and in vs 38-39 Jesus heals Simon's mother in law, but right after that...  "At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them." vs 40. Think about it, this is after sunset, it's late! Yet, Jesus had the patience to love, to heal, to give of himself. 

Today I lost my patience, forgetting 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Lets not be like the silly example of the two birds. It's always so easy to be patient with ourselves and not with others. So next time try to remember how patient you are with yourself before you lose it with others. And your patience will be paid off with something beautiful within.