Learn - Patience

Learn - to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire: She learned patience from her father.

I had to laugh at the example dictionary.com used for this definition of learn.  I most certainly did not learn patience from my father.  He is more impatient than I am, if that's possible.

I do however have a heavenly Father that works to teach me patience.  He whispers in my ear, in a voice only my heart can hear and He says "A patient man has great understanding,  but a quick-tempered man displays folly. A heart at peace gives life to the body," Proverbs 14:29-31 (NIV) The words dance in my head and in my heart.  I think upon them and I attempt to have peace and patience in my everyday life.  This is no easy task because my first instinct is to be impatient and react.  Yet I am finding, each day, that waiting grows easier.  I do have more peace when I am patient and truly wait until I understand a situation, or outburst of emotion, instead of pushing forward towards my selfish goals.  I do not do this perfectly, many times I have to take a deep breath and remind myself to calm down, be quiet, and wait. 

I am still learning.  I love that this is my word for this year.  It describes where I am at in life perfectly.