Learning 2 Love: Patient

"Love is patient..." 1 Corinthians 13:4

So this week begins our Learning to Love series (L2L). We begin with LOVE IS PATIENT.

I looked up the definition of PATIENT in the Websters 1828 Dictionary:

PATIENT, a. pa'shent. [L. patiens.]

1. Having the quality of enduring evils without murmuring or fretfulness; sustaining afflictions of body or mind with fortitude, calmness or christian submission to the divine will; as a patient person, or a person of patient temper. It is followed by of before the evil endured; as patient of labor or pain; patient of heat or cold.

2. Not easily provoked; calm under the sufferance of injuries or offenses; not revengeful.

Be patient towards all men. 1 Thess.5.

3. Persevering; constant in pursuit or exertion; calmly diligent.

Whatever I have done is due to patient thought.

4. Not hasty; not over eager or impetuous; waiting or expecting with calmness or without discontent.

Not patient to expect the turns of fate.

So I began to think of a word picture that my children could associate with this definition. At first, I thought of a clock, but that picture doesn't really relate to the definition.

So, I chose a glass of water. I poured water into a glass and set it on the table. I asked the children to describe the glass. We talked about how "calm" the water was. How pretty the water was when it was calm in the sunlight.

Then I began to bang the table (gently of course) and asked the children what was happening to the water. We talked about how me banging on the table was like when one of your sisters yells at you or whenever one of your sisters takes your toy. All it took was a little jolt and the water was no longer "calm" it was easily agitated. This is the OPPOSITE of patient.

I stopped banging on the table and the water went back to being "calm." We talked about how we need to always stay calm and patient, even when there are little agitations all around us.

I know this is prolly not the BEST word picture, but it has been helpful. If you can think of a better one, PLEASE do share! I want this to be the BEST for ALL of us. I will put up another picture that we can share. If you want to print out the above picture, just right click and "Save As" and then you can print out as many as you want for each of your children. I printed the definition on the back. not that they can read yet, but it is still nice to have there.

I printed out the above card and will put a hole in the corner to put on a lanyard for the children to wear around their neck so that they can always be carrying this word picture around with them to remind them all week of how love is patient.

So today, already, I have seen how I need to be more patient towards my children. It is really convicting when you are trying to teach your children to be patient with one another as a show of love towards one another and yet you are not patient with them. EE has even started apologizing for not being patient whenever she is impatient with her sisters.