One of the things I struggle with in life is patience. I think I am gradually moving to a place where I wait impatiently. That is still a far cry from patience. I think many of you will have similar challenges to me in this area. The other day while I was driving to school, a bus stopped at a designated bus stop and blocked the lane. The lane beside was full of cleverer people than me who had anticipated the bus stop scenario and travelled in the right hand lane. I sat there growing more and more impatient thinking about where I should be and bemoaning the bunch of things that had happened to have me feeling so tense. Then I switched to watching the person who was trying to get off the bus as quickly as possible. They looked like they were in their 80s, struggling for good mobility, but still doing their best to get off as fast as possible so as not to hold people up. I took a deep breath and though to myself, “Look at the efforts this person is making. Why are you so impatient?” I stumbled across the truth that empathy helps with patience.

We are currently in a time when we need patience more than ever. One of the big challenges for us at school at the moment with the current COVID restrictions, is getting all of our children off campus at the end of the day. I would ask for your empathy for other parents, for staff and for the children as it is no easy thing getting around 450 students away in close to a 25 minute period. Empathy can lead to patience and understanding and care for one another – something we can all appreciate right now.

The bonus in all of this is that these also make for great parenting moments for us. Explaining how we are feeling and how we are working through the challenges life brings to our children, provides a model for our children to emulate in the times they face difficulties and great points of reference for the future.

The Bible gives us some great advice in Ephesians 4:2 “ Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” That is not easy to do, but the benefits just keep rippling out.

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B