Love is Patient

1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient…”

True story: Rewind the clock back about 15 years. I’m sitting in a Sunday school class. The lesson is about patience. I’m wiggling in my seat. See, I’d been looking in the figurative mirror at this thirty-something woman and asking myself the age-old Bridget Jones question. “Why am I still single?” I mean, come on, I’m thirty-two! Thirty-two! I finally raised my hand. No, I wasn’t about to ask the gray-haired gentleman who’d been married for more than thirty-two years to tell me why I was single. I asked the question, “I’ve been praying to God for patience. How will God help me be patient?”

To my surprise, he answered easily, “In order to teach you patience, God will test your patience.”

Yikes! Yup, I kept going. “You mean,” I said slowly, “He’s going to make me wait on things to teach me patient.”

That teacher nodded.

Me, I stopped praying for patience.

God kept on making me wait.

I was forty-one when I finally donned a white wedding dress. My maid of honor was three years older than me (Please, don’t do the math. Cathy McDavid will kill me). The youngest bridesmaid was Stacy Connelly, who at thirty-two was probably wiggling during the wedding and thinking, “Why am I single?” (Stacy is beautiful – think Katie Holmes. Me? Looking at my picture on the sidebar – think, um, think chubby…)

I do thank the Lord every day for the patience he gave me. See, I’d dated a lot of frogs (I didn’t always look like chubby woman on the side of the hot chocolate can). I shudder to think what marriage would have been like with them. When my prince finally came, I was so stupid, that I didn’t recognize him.

My friends did. Every single one of them said, “Pam, wow, I like that Don. He’s a great guy. I looked again, and again, and again. They were right.

Seven years ago, a forty-year wait ended. Today, I fold big white socks and little white socks. Today in my back yard I have big tools and toy tools. On my television is a choice of DIY or Caillou. And sometimes I look at the sky and my heart whispers the words: Thank you, Lord.

I Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient.

I’ve learned, somewhat, to pray for patience. Someday, I’ll tell you about my bout with patience and the little guy who owns the little white socks, the toy tools, and loves Caillou.