In honor of Valentine's Day I'm sharing this true story about how I learned the importance of being patient. I still struggle with patience, but I use this situation as a reminder that Love is Patient, Love is Kind.
But let's step back a couple of weeks in time. Our pastor had been encouraging members to share their talents with others and someone approached me to teach some basic painting techniques and projects and I agreed to do so. The second or third project was a simple cottage with only a few details, but just enough to give some practice on layering, shading and highlighting. Nan had signed up to take the classes and I spent most of the classtime by her side because she was having such difficulty. I went home and complained to my husband that I thought Nan might have a learning disability because every instruction was done backwards and it was taking away time from the others by my staying at her side the whole time. I got a good lecture from him...he was a high school teacher and he told me I needed to learn patience, which is true that I did. He also said, "You'll never know how much these classes may mean to someone so if they are happy with their project, then you should be also." Truer words were never spoken!
Anyway, after the tornado, our Sunday School class chipped in and purchased new clothing for Nan's son, who was now staying with her best friend. Another class member and I took the clothes to her home. After a few minutes, Nan's good friend looked at me (a light bulb moment) and said, "Oh you're Linda Steele who was teaching Nan how to paint!" She asked that we wait a minute and she left the room. She returned holding that "Little Green Cottage" that Nan had just painted, and which had tried my patience. She said that Nan loved the painting classes and that just a day or so before Nan gave it to her and that it now was her most treasurered possession because it was given to her from Nan only days before her death.
Have a nice day today....remember love is patient, love is kind.
In honor of Valentine's Day I'm sharing this true story about how I learned the importance of being patient. I still struggle with patience, but I use this situation as a reminder that Love is Patient, Love is Kind.
A couple of weeks back we had some severe weather, with high winds. When I let Buster the circus dog out, I thought he might just blow away...right off the deck. The high wind reminded me of a day about 12 years ago when we had been getting weather warnings of possible tornadoes. It was a good day to clean out the basement where we could feel somewhat protected. We kept stepping outside and noticing how black the sky was. Little did we know that it was more than a dark sky, it was a tornado wall, very wide which was ripping through just south of here heading toward Little Rock.
The next morning we were in church when someone from the church office took a note up to the pastor to read. He announced that a couple from our church had been killed in the tornado that had swept through. It took my breath away because that couple were members in my Sunday School class. It was announced that Nan's son had survived the tornado because he was visiting at a friend's home when the tornado hit.
But let's step back a couple of weeks in time. Our pastor had been encouraging members to share their talents with others and someone approached me to teach some basic painting techniques and projects and I agreed to do so. The second or third project was a simple cottage with only a few details, but just enough to give some practice on layering, shading and highlighting. Nan had signed up to take the classes and I spent most of the classtime by her side because she was having such difficulty. I went home and complained to my husband that I thought Nan might have a learning disability because every instruction was done backwards and it was taking away time from the others by my staying at her side the whole time. I got a good lecture from him...he was a high school teacher and he told me I needed to learn patience, which is true that I did. He also said, "You'll never know how much these classes may mean to someone so if they are happy with their project, then you should be also." Truer words were never spoken!
Anyway, after the tornado, our Sunday School class chipped in and purchased new clothing for Nan's son, who was now staying with her best friend. Another class member and I took the clothes to her home. After a few minutes, Nan's good friend looked at me (a light bulb moment) and said, "Oh you're Linda Steele who was teaching Nan how to paint!" She asked that we wait a minute and she left the room. She returned holding that "Little Green Cottage" that Nan had just painted, and which had tried my patience. She said that Nan loved the painting classes and that just a day or so before Nan gave it to her and that it now was her most treasurered possession because it was given to her from Nan only days before her death.
I felt so ashamed that I had been impatient and frustrated. My husband was right...but I did find out how much the classes meant, instead of "you may never know".
I received a couple of odd phone calls in the days and week following that. One was from a woman who lived in West Memphis, miles and miles from here. The caller said she found a torn piece from a deposit slip with Nan's name on it and my phone number and she couldn't stop thinking about it until she found out if the name on the deposit slip had been in the tornado. I told her that Nan and her husband had been killed in the tornado. I remembered back that I had offered to give Nan some one-on-one instructions and she had written my name and phone number on one of her deposit slips. It had traveled across the state in the tornado and landed in this woman's yard....and she called me out of concern, seeing that the paper traveled from so far away.
I still look back and think about Nan and the "Little Green Cottage". It reminds me that the Bible says Love is Patient, Love is Kind. You may, or may not, know how much you touch someone's life, but share love and be patient with one another anyway. You may just find out later there was a purpose to be included in that person's life. We just do not know what awaits behind the next door. It just takes patience and understanding.
