Be patient

Let things happen in their time!

Don’t unnecessarily force events or rush others to make progress.

Be calm and collected.

Resource Ideas for Chapel and Classroom

Bible

Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ephesians 4:1–4 (NIV)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

New International Version (NIV)

Quotes

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

~Napoleon Hill

Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.

Prayers

Lord, teach me to be patient – with life, with people,and with myself. I sometimes try to hurry things along too much, and I push for answers before the time is right. Teach me to trust Your sense of timing rather than my own and to surrender my will to Your greater and wiser plan. Help me let life unfold slowly, like the small rosebud whose petals unravel bit by bit, and remind me that in hurrying the bloom along, I destroy the bud and much of the beauty therein.

Instead, let me wait for all to unfold in its own time. Each moment and state of growth contains a loveliness. Teach me to slow down enough to appreciate life and all it holds. Amen.

Movie

The Karate Kid

(the training sequence)

Meditation

Sitting in silence and stillness may be a good activity to nurture the sense of comfort with ones own mind.

(find some mediation ideas and resources here)

Activity

Questions

What do you hate waiting for?

When do you find waiting most difficult?

What do you do to make waiting easier?

What can’t you wait for?

Game

Mark One Minute

Everyone closes their eyes and must guess how long a minute is, by opening their eyes when they think a minute is up. Try playing this game using a piece of music. Did players guess a longer or shorter time for a minute? Another way to play is to get everyone to walk between two walls trying to move slowly or quickly enough that they will reach the wall just as a minute is up. If you reach the wall before time you are out.

(Inspired by Christine Gapes. New Games for Community)

Story

(find more stories on patience and some ways to use them in the classroom here)

Video

The Marshmallow Effect