Patience may be defined in several ways: first, it is the quality of forbearance in the face of difficulty without complaining, secondly, it is the ability to suppress annoyance or restlessness when confronted with delay in order to achieve the desired results, it is also the quality of perseverance without losing temper Eyre (2001). Christians view it as a fruit of the holy spirit which all Christians should posses.
In the Christians view patience is may be defined as the ability to wait without restlessness. This is from the perspective of the promise held by Christians from God. They have the promise that son of God will come for them after a short while, without knowing the exact definition of the ‘while’ and after a long time, Christians are still waiting for their savior. This is patience, without the patience they could have lost hope of His return. As a Christian also I have the same promise and it takes patience to keep waiting for it.
Patience as the quality of forbearance is the quality of perseverance in the face of difficulty without complaining or losing ourselves. For example it takes patience to complete the schooling process. My ability to reach where I am in education is as a result of patience. Although the learning process is not easy I have been able to overcome all its challenges to get to where I am today. Sometimes in the process of learning I have sat for exams and failed to achieve what I desired, this however did not destroy my education goals because I was patient.
Patience is also the ability to suppress anger or annoyance or restless in order to achieve the desired results. People who are not patient are bound to make mistakes by acting out of anger. Sometimes I have to be patient with my friends, although they do some undesirable things to me sometimes, I am still friends with them because I have been able to forebear with them. To maintain a good relationship, it takes patience because if your friend or partner wrongs you today, it does not mean that he/she will do the same tomorrow. Last weak one of my friends made some negative remarks about me, however because of patience when I heard about the remarks I did not jump at once into quarrels with my friend, I called him and we talked it out, we are even greater friends today, were it not for patience I had on him, today we could be enemies.
It also took patience for my parents to raise me into the person I am today. My mum carrying me in her womb for nine years took patience; she endured all the complications of pregnancy, gave birth to me and provided me with good nurturing. She taught me how to speak, although I was slow in catching her language, she did not give up but she continued teaching me until I grasped it, this took patience.
The opposite of patience is impatience which is easy agitation and the inability to forebear in the face of difficulty, Lokos (2012). People who are impatient lose themselves to situation easily; they are high tempered and will be angry as soon as you cross their path. I can judge that patience is a quality I have been able to learn through time. I learned to be patient with people I relate to, and patience was eventually reflected in all my areas of my life. Before I used to be angered very easily, I had constant misunderstandings with my friends; however since I learned the quality of patience I have a better life than before.
References
Eyre, S. (2001). Patience.USA: Zondervan
Lokos, A. (2012). Patience: The art of peaceful living. Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher
