Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Is patience really as much of a virtue as it is often made out to be, or is it often used as an excuse, perhaps unwittingly, to try to avoid having to deal with things in our lives, to make decisions and to actually use the good sense that God has given us to bring things into being?
Do we perhaps worry how we may appear to others as impatient in making some choices? On the other hand, are caution, prayer and contemplative thought not warranted when making significant decisions?
Hmmm.
About Me
- Michael
- I am an Orthodox Christian and a Reader in the Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland, serving with the blessing of His Grace Archbishop Mark. I struggle along, much like most people, but I do what I can, by God's grace. I have a love for the worship of the Orthodox Church - both eastern and western - and long for the day when we have a local Orthodox Church in Britain, giving a single voice and witness of the ancient Faith of these isles to the people of these isles, with their various backgrounds and walks of life.
Other Blogs that I Like
-
-
Greatmartyr Mercurius of Caesarea, in Cappadocia… - The Holy Great Martyr Mercurius, a Scythian by descent, served as a soldier in the Roman army. The impious emperors Decius (249-251) and Valerian (253-259)...
-
...and more reasons to love the Monastic Diurnal - As is obvious from reading S. Benedict's Holy Rule, the Monastic office was designed for use by very busy people who were committed to physical work and re...
-
Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations - Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations By Kathryn Mannix Published by William Collins 16th September 2021 Having re-read *With the ...
-
Temporarily – No Comment - God willing, the content of this blog will be migrated to its new site, starting sometime after midnight (here in East Coast America). I have been asked to...
-
-
IMITATING CHRIST - We Must Become the Image of Christ to Others If we are to be true to our calling as the children of God, we must live in imitation of Christ. We must imita...
-
-
-
Studio Backgrounds - *For Download image in Full Resolution Right Click on Image and Open with New Window and Save Image*
-
Update on this blog - Some may have noticed that the Sunday propers are no longer posted here. That is because I came to realize that not a single priest is using them for act...
-
Being Christian in a Western Democracy - BEING CHRISTIAN IN A WESTERN DEMOCRACYFr. Ilya GorskyIn the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.Our first and foremost concern is our salvat...
-
-
Some initial thoughts - - The commission's proposal to "graft" same-gender couples into the estate of marriage, but as a distinct dispensation, is one from which I w...
-
Do You Know the Impact You Can Have? - Our holy father, the martyr Paramon, was not a Christian; but he was a well-respected man in the region where he lived. He encountered one day a group of ...
-
-
-
Sites I like
-
Anthimus of Chios3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
6 comments:
indeed very interesting. Personally I have very little place for patiance. No I don't want instant gratification, but when it comes to major decisions, I normally think about it and pray about it and then roll with it.
On the same question, what is the point of regrets?
Joe Zollars
Indeed.
I have often heard the prayer, "Dear Lord, grant me patience, and give it to me now!", used in jest at how we often lack patience, even when we think we have it. I know that patience is better than regret, which comes with hindsight. Joe is right. We ought not to dwell on the past, but rather, learn from it. Still, we could perhaps avoid so many mistakes if we just waited a little longer before making that decision.
It's just that I'm prone to using that as an excuse for complacency.
sigh
People have tried all my life to teach me what they call "patience". In practice, that means "do everything I tell you =immediately= and without question." I have not learned this kind of patience yet, and I will soon reach my scripturally allotted span of threescore years and ten.
The kind of patience needed in my little town is the ability of folks to stand patiently in a queue and be courteous to the store clerks when they finally reach the head of the queue.... will that ever happen? I always seem to be right behind the person in the queue who has finally "blown his stack", so the store clerk is still furious, hurt, and sometimes nearly in tears, by the time I am able to make my purchase. I spend a lot of time trying to soothe the feelings of store clerks....
Oh well....
Leetle M.
Well it has perhaps become apparent by now, that the issue about which I was wondering was whether or not to agree to have my baptism brought forward. I came up with all manner of reasons why I shouldn't do it until I finally accepted that I was just making excuses.
So here we are. :-s
Hehe! First step in becoming Orthodox through and through is to learn that there really are no excuses any more once we're =in= the Church!
Actually, it makes life a lot easier after you get used to giving up the search for excuses.
(((Michael)))
Leetle M.
PS--Carrot sticks in V-8 juice are nice, too. :)
Hugs right back atcha, Leetle M! :-)
You are right, of course.
M x
Post a Comment