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"Patience is better than power,
and controlling one's emotions than capturing a city."
(Proverbs 16:32, CSB)
Our oldest child turned three in September, and we are in the throes of potty training with the little guy! To his credit, he does a great job with number 1! We ask if he needs to go, and he tells us yes or no. We tell him to sit on the potty and try, and he obeys. He knows accidents are bad and apologizes when he has one. He really does do a good job with number 1; now number 2... that is a whole different story.
Our oldest child goes number 2 in his pants every time. We have not had one number 2 make it in the toilet. I, Bryant, am writing to you as someone who has caught a few of these disastrous "duties," but my sweet, saint of a wife has caught many more than a few of them. These are certainly not a delight to pick up, clean up, or even type about. If the number 2s weren't bad enough, when our oldest son has these accidents, he gets pretty worked up, cries and gets upset (at himself and the situation). Number 2s with our oldest son aren't much fun in the Forshee household. Quite frankly, they really frustrate my wife and me. Quite honestly, they send my patience level to 0 really quickly.
This unpleasant circumstance has really shown me that I lack patience in this area of my life. Thanks be to God, He has allowed me to be pretty patient, but whenever the 2s show up, I have zero patience for it. I get frustrated with a three-year-old, get impatient with my wife, and get very irritable in these situations. What I am slowly learning is that when 2s happen, I need to pray for patience, put on patience, ask God for more, and remember Proverbs 16:32. I need to be patient and use that patience to control my emotions.
I truly hope you don't have to deal with the 2s like Team Forshee in Arkansas is right now, but what about you? Is there a recurring circumstance in your life that absolutely drains and depletes your patience? If you are thinking of a scenario right now, remember the truth of Proverbs 16:32. We all know patience is better, and controlling one's emotions is always best, but it is oh so hard to do. So after you internalize the truth of Proverbs 16:32, pray that God would give you patience as you endure a not-so-favorable circumstance that unfortunately keeps recurring. Just a reminder of our definition of faith from earlier in the week: Faith is CHOOSING to live as though God's word is true regardless of circumstances, emotions, or cultural trends. As you go through tough circumstances, CHOOSE to believe God's word is true and live it out... even if it is a really stinky circumstance!
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