Sincerly Yours , Jumana Swindler contributing writer
A Lesson in Patience
Have you ever wondered why Job ( in the Bible ) was the last person to have been credited with real honest-to-goodness patience ? And , that was thousands of years ago . So for centuries upon centuries , we appear to have been losing our ability to wait .
It used to be easy . Cavemen abstained from foraging for food , or heading out to the hunt when dangerous bands of dinosaurs roamed outside their domiciles . They didn ’ t feel the need to run out to the nearest Red & White or Kroger on log vehicles with stone wheels like the Flintstones . They maintained . They ate what they had in stock , picked out a few ants from the floor for protein snacks or slept in more under their Mammoth blankets until the herds headed to other locales .
Male Vikings journeyed over many oceans to seek their suitable mates , patiently wrestling menacing seas and storms long before mail order bride catalogs or Amazon next day deliveries came into existence . They waited and even lived by their choices since a no refund policy had not yet been invented and Judge Judy or hot spots in Vegas were not around to grant quick divorces .
By the way , did you know that Rome wasn ’ t built in a day ? It took a while and the Italians apparently had great fun stomping grapes into great wine , creating pasta and tinkering with spices in their marinara sauce for decades . People splashed around in fountains with naked statues and chilled on gondola rides . But , they were cool and exercised a little patience .
And the Wild West , despite its tales of savagery by all cultures , demonstrated restraint when family excursions required wagon train rides for more than three months to get there and three months back . What in the world did they talk about for so long and what did they count if Punch Buggies weren ’ t invented yet ? Also , the only faster mode of transport were locomotives and bank robbers usually held them up anyway . So early settlers had to calmly wait for news , supplies or those relatives who got left behind when the wagon train departed and they were in the saloon for one last draft . I never watched a Gunsmoke where anyone ever complained about the time .
But modern day humans , bound by all sorts of anxiety issues and impatience-related disorders , have frazzled themselves in the opposite direction . We can ’ t get things done or make things happen fast enough . We invented clocks and watches with second hands so time was no longer budgeted in hours or minutes , but in micro-moments . We no longer have televisions and phones - - we had to turn them into smart phones and smart TVs so all our computing , communicating , texting , video conferencing and photo albums are in our hands for immediate response , delivery and exchange .
I have watched people leave restaurants and public places enraged because of the unavailability of WiFi for immediate contacts . Airplane passengers and theater audiences have gone into electronic withdrawal when requested to shut down phones during flights or performances . Some even disregard the directive , putting crews and occupants at risk from 10,000 feet or distract viewers who paid for a night of respite to watch the big screen or a live show .
No one understands why their burgers aren ’ t at drive-in windows within 60 seconds of ordering their Happy Meal and don ’ t get me started on how stressed our children and grandchildren are when they have to take running leaps into the SUV so the school traffic line moves more swiftly for folks behind us and they get fussed out for being too slow to board the vans .
How about those cars that race through intersections on the ending of yellow and the onset of red lights JUST SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO STOP AND WAIT ON THE NEXT ROTATION ?
Retail businesses have been sacrificed for online orders and convenience means next day or less for delivery . Even the art of boiling an egg is diminishing . They come pre-boiled in the dairy section because we cannot wait for the three minutes to boil ‘ em at home .
It takes six months to build a Rolls Royce and 13 hours to make a Toyota . How many of the pristine vehicles do you see on the road today ? ( Yeah , yeah , I know it ’ s probably about price , but I wanted to impress readers with my factoid , too .)
So , pray tell . What are we doing with all that extra time ? They say churches aren ’ t packed . Tourism is down . Sports activities reportedly have less attendance . Parents are still needed to help PTAs and booster clubs and sold out houses at events are an uncommon phenomenon .
My take : Wasting time isn ’ t the issue . Using it wisely is . Maybe Job was right about the patience thing , since he eventually “ died old and full of days .” May our days be complete , not fast and fraught with attempts to speed things up just for the sake of not having to wait .
“ Patience is bitter , but its fruit is sweet ,” Aristotle once said . Readers , enjoy the nectar of Summer . Relax before Fall arrives .
Philippians 4:6
118 AUGUST 2017 SHEMAGAZINE . COM