Patience! It’s something everybody wants, but nobody wants to wait for. So often we think of patience as a passive waiting, and sometimes it is, but as author Rev. Robert Strand says, “On the contrary, patience can be very active . . . when exercised it’s a concentration of strength. It’s more than simply enduring. It’s a discipline at work moving us to a point that God has in mind.”

My friend Val sounded hopeful as she told me about her upcoming eye surgery. “For ages I’ve been frustrated because I just can’t see clearly. I finally got new glasses, but even that was upsetting because no matter how many times I wiped them, I just couldn’t seem to get them clean. Finally, my doctor told me that my glasses aren’t the problem. It‘s my eyes. Cataracts are clouding my vision. Once they are removed from my eyes, the doctor will implant new lenses, and I should be able to see clearly again. What a relief that will be!”

We live in a busy world where people are often so focused on what they have to do and their own circumstances that they forget to reach out to others in need. Here’s a story to warm your heart and remind us all of the importance of simple kindness.

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

When we arrived, a thin, old man with a scruffy beard, and a gentle-looking lady sat comfortably talking on the bench just outside the inn where we were staying for the weekend. Their conversation was relaxed and easy; it was obvious they were old friends. At the other end of the parking lot, another group of people chatted quietly. And when we made our way toward our room, the hall was literally lined with people obviously waiting for others to join them. The ambiance was amazing. Later we discovered that we were the only strangers in the mix—all the rest of these folks were in town for a family reunion.

I’ve just returned from a wonderful vacation in the Midwest, and as I reflect on all that transpired from the time we pulled out of the driveway in Pennsylvania until we returned nine days later, I’m amazed at the multitude of blessings our loving Heavenly Father showered upon us. Safe travel, perfect weather, wonderful time with family and friends, worshiping with other believers and hearing from God’s Word, time to relax and be refreshed—the list is long and I truly praise God for each of these gifts.

You’d think they would have been complaining or clamoring to get free. It wasn’t fair! After all, they were two men of God, doing His work, preaching good news, and promoting peace, and then they were thrown in jail! But instead of complaining and clamoring Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God and praying. There in the midnight hour of the darkest days of their lives, through their songs they spoke of God, and with their prayers they spoke to God.

It was just one of those days when I was dragging. Heat and humidity? Physical exhaustion? Stress? I’m not sure what brought it on, but my energy level was low. Two of my co-workers greeted me when I arrived at the office and we chatted a moment, then I plopped into a chair and said, “I think you’re going to have to wind me up to get me going this morning.”

Jane, our administrative assistant, smiled and said, “Rather than wind you up, I’d like to lift you up.” And she did. She prayed lifting my need before our Heavenly Father, asking Him to be my strength and hope that day. Our staff prays together every day before we begin our work, so this was nothing unusual, but I can’t tell you how refreshing and encouraging it was on that particular day.