Healing of Impatience Brings Peace and Health

I am very grateful for our Roundtable classes, which overflow with spiritual precepts and practical steps for practicing pure Christian Science as taught by Mary Baker Eddy and the early workers. Last Sunday, the virtue of patience was discussed, along with its importance. A few years ago, a definition of impatience was shared during another Roundtable class that resonated with me. It was to the effect that impatience, a false trait, usually comes from thwarted self-will, characterized by restless, agitated, nervousness, impulsivity, worry, and dissatisfaction, to name a few. I am grateful for the change in character that has occurred since that time, which was a result of my practitioner’s prayers and instruction.

Step by step, lesson after lesson, I have been gaining a better understanding of the need for patience and breaking the stubborn hold of impatience. I am learning to trust God’s disposal of events, forgive myself and others, be patient with my own and others’ growth, not rush, appreciate exactness, be quieter, and express greater endurance. I have been learning to recognize my emotions and understand what makes me rush. I am also learning the importance of not tolerating what is wrong in God’s eyes and the courage to face problems.

As Mary Baker Eddy states: “Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities.” (Excerpt from “Taking Offence” in Miscellaneous Writings, page 224)