BAKE

But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . patience.

GALATIANS 5:22

Patience is my least favorite word in the English language. If you were to ask anyone in my family or someone who works with me, most likely they would acknowledge that while I have gifts and have worked hard to develop the fruit of the Spirit, patience is the one thing that still feels like it’s in embryonic form. I feel sure somewhere in my spirit this seed is just waiting to sprout, but I know from the times when my patience has been tested that it has yet to come into full bloom.

It’s not because I haven’t fertilized it and watered it faithfully, because I have. For years. With the Word and in everyday situations I face. When I’m stuck in traffic. When I’m waiting because my flight has been delayed— again. When I’m waiting in the car in the driveway for the girls to come get in. We’ve all been there, right? Still, it remains a struggle. Even when I do something as basic as baking cookies, my lack of patience can get the best of me— and the cookies.

To this day, when my girls smell cookies baking, they come rushing to the kitchen because they know I’m going to do one of two things. I’m either going to pull them out too soon because I’ve got things to do and I can’t stand waiting one more minute on them, or I’m going to wander off and start doing something else I need to do and completely forget about