Doing things in wisdom and order like we talked about last week (LINK) requires patience. But patience can be hard, right?
We've likely all seen the videos of The Marshmallow Test where children are given one marshmallow, but told if they don't eat it until the adult comes back into the room, then they can have two marshmallows. The choice is completely up to them - one now or two for waiting.
What if the child doesn't like marshmallows? Of course, anything could be used instead as long as the child likes it. The "marshmallow" must be something desirable for the test to be valid.
Think about something you want or a challenge you're facing that's taking longer than you'd like. Sometimes we just have to wait for things. It's part of life. But what good can it do?
As we watch these children struggle with their choice, we clearly see some of what it takes to be patient. Their little faces say it all. What do they say?
1 - Patience can be hard. I've seen lots of videos of lots of different kids facing down their marshmallows (or candy or whatever), and I've never seen one child sit serenely waiting for the adult to come back. The struggle is real. Acknowledging that can help us hold on.
2 - Patience requires coping skills. The kids avert or close their eyes. They squirm and wiggle. They smell the marshmallow. They touch it and poke it. Some stare it down. We see them, most of them anyway, doing anything they can think of to avoid stuffing that white fluffiness into their mouths. What coping mechanisms do you have at your disposal? What others could be helpful to develop?
3 - Patience requires trust. These children believed the adults when they told them better things would come for waiting. We, too, have to have trust in the process we're following, trust in the ones advocating the process, and trust in ourselves to know we're on the right path for us.
What do we get when we stretch ourselves by using all our coping skills and exercising the necessary trust to wait for better things? Dieter Uchtdorf put it this way, "The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness."
So, when you find yourself squirming in your chair staring down your metaphoric marshmallow, remember, you're actually doing a lot more than just waiting. You're growing and making your life better in ways you'll understand later - when you're devouring your TWO marshmallows.
Comments