Patience

Waiting is not one of my strong suits. It isn't that I am incapable, it is that I struggle to do so patiently and without worry. To be fair, I should probably struggle a little harder. Waiting is probably the number one activity by which worry enters into my life, and it always has been. As a child in the second grade, I can remember playing at a friends house and noting that it was past the time that my parents had said they would pick me up. Most any kid would be thrilled and keep playing, happy to have the extra time, but not me. I was suddenly waiting for them to show up, wondering where they were and when they'd come. The mother of that friend told me not to worry, and that worrying was a sin - not helpful at all. Now I was worrying about my parents as well as the fact that my worrying was sinful. It's amazing how indelibly the words "Worrying is a sin" have been seared into my mind since that time. And the thing is, whether or not you believe in sin, or that it is a sin - the statement isn't really very helpful. Worrying is natural, and most people find themselves worried at some point. What I think is important to remember is that worrying isn't productive. The most you can hope to produce by worrying is an upset stomach or a headache, and chances are that neither are a solution to that which you are worried about. For myself, it is best to turn to my faith, to pass my concerns on to God, and then try to trust that I am taken care of. Of course that doesn't mean standing idly by, but rather going about life constructively while I wait.

Growing up we had an LP called The Music Machine, and on that record was a song about a snail named Herbert that was to help children learn what patience was and the importance of it. Here I am 30 years older than I was when I first heard it, and still when I find myself worrying it comes to me and I give it a hum or a sing or a listen. Here are the lyrics, they're short and fun.

Patience (Herbert the Snail) 

Written by Frank Hernandez & Sherry Saunders Powell

Verse 1:
There was a snail called Herbert who was so very slow
He caused a lot of traffic jams wherever he would go
The ants were always getting mad and the beetles, they would fume
But Herb would always poke along and sing this little tune

Chorus:
Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember that God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others have to wait for you

Verse 2:
When Herbert was much younger, he often got in trouble
Forgetting that he was a snail, he did things on the double
He'd crash through every spider web and with crickets he'd collide
'Til one day Herbert's father took his speeding son aside

Chorus

Verse 3:
As you can well imagine, there's a moral to this tale
Some of you may find yourselves behind a creeping snail
So if you get impatient and you're easily disturbed
Think about this little song and take a tip from Herb

Chorus


Blessings