Patience...

Have you ever seen the movie, Evan Almighty? It has to be one of my favorite shows, maybe because of the fact that it has Steve Carell in it, but still it has a great moral to the story. For those who haven't watched it, here is a little synopsis...

Evan (Steve Carell) moves his family to Virginia when he is elected to congress. His slogan was to "Change the World." He prays for guidance in his new house, and the next morning strange things begin happening. His alarm goes off at Gen. 6:14. Then a truck load of wood is delivered to his house. Finally, God (Morgan Freeman) appears to him and commands him to build an ark, just as Noah did before him, and fill it with animals to protect them against the coming flood. Needless to say, everyone thinks that Evan has gone crazy.

The reason for this entry is to share a quote from the movie that has been on my mind for months and when I heard it, it was like a light going on in my head. The quote was from Morgan Freeman a.k.a. God in the movie, and it goes like this:

Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the OPPORTUNITY to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him OPPORTUNITIES to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them OPPORTUNITIES to love each other?

As soon as I heard the lines about patience, I thought to myself "Ah ha!" Alex, my darling, sweet, lovable, adorable, wouldn't -want- any- other two year old had recently became a little bit of a challenge for me and my patience, and me praying for the increase in patience was the reason for the challenge (or should I say "opportunity"?)! It all made sense! And I felt as this was brought to my attention, the opportunities had become easier to understand and deal with. And now whenever Alex acts up, I just take a deep breath and think "God is just answering my patience prayer!"