Parenting on Pointნიმუში

Developing Patience in Daily Life

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that involves waiting calmly and trusting in God’s timing. It’s a vital quality that helps children develop self-control, build perseverance, and handle life's challenges with grace. Teaching patience is crucial for their growth in faith and character. Begin by explaining what patience means. Help your children understand that patience is waiting without complaining and trusting that God has a perfect plan and timing for everything. Teach them that patience involves self-control and a calm spirit.

In one particularly challenging season, we had five kids under the age of 10. It’s crazy how life happened—every two years, another kid just seemed to show up with our last name. Life was a whirlwind of activity—school drop-offs, baseball practices, vocal recitals, church events, and everything in between. Each day felt like a race against time, and, in many moments, I felt my patience wearing thin.

One day, we decided to take the kids for a day at the zoo. We’d been planning the trip for weeks, and the kids were buzzing with excitement. I (Mark) pictured the perfect family day—laughter, learning, and bonding. But, as soon as we arrived, our experience was far from that. First, we were stuck in traffic, and then when we finally arrived, we discovered the parking lot was full, so we had to park several blocks away. I could feel my patience continuing to slip away as we unloaded the stroller and gear from the car.

As we were walking from the car to the entrance, our youngest child, who had recently started potty training, announced, “I need to go potty—now!” I sighed, knowing we’d passed a gas station a few blocks back. I continued feeling the frustration rise in my chest. I was already thinking about how much of our carefully planned day was unraveling. At that moment, I felt a prompting in the Spirit and caught myself, thinking these were the exact moments where I needed to practice patience. I realized irritation was starting to seep into the tone of my voice, my body language, and the way I was relating to our children. I took a deep breath, asked God for patience, and turned to our family with a smile. “You know what?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “This gives us a chance to see more of the city. Let’s make it an adventure!” The children mirrored my attitude change. They laughed and started pointing out interesting things they saw along the way.

As we walked, I silently prayed, asking the Holy Spirit to fill me with patience and help me see the situation through God’s eyes. We finally made it back to the gas station, then back to the zoo entrance. But the challenges didn’t stop there, but I remembered my earlier prayer and decided to take a different approach. The kids responded in kind, beginning to share what they were thankful for, even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

Throughout the day, whenever I felt frustrated, I would pause, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to help me choose patience over anger. By the end of the day, despite all the mishaps, I felt grateful—for family time, for lessons in patience, and that God had given me the strength to stay calm and loving even when things didn’t go as planned.

Help your children see that waiting and enduring challenges can strengthen their character and faith. Encourage them to see difficulties as opportunities to grow. Encourage them to pray for patience. Help them understand that patience is a gift from the Holy Spirit, and it’s okay to ask God for help in developing this virtue.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us to be patient and trust in Your perfect timing. Help us to wait with a calm spirit, trusting that You know what’s best for us. Fill our hearts with patience and perseverance as we grow in our faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.