Be Patient With Yourself
“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.” ~ St. Francis de Sales
I know that there are probably those out there who would disagree with what I am about to say; however, I think that I have a great deal of patience. Yes, some have found themselves on the short end of patience from time to time. But, with all that I have to deal, I think I exercise more than a fair share of patience with everything and everyone. That is, everything and everyone, except myself.
I am quick, very quick, to point the finger at myself and to beat myself up for things that I say or do as well as for things that I fail to say or do. I am expert at finding fault with myself. Part of that comes from being a huge perfectionist. I think that things should be done immediately and perfectly. When I fail to perform up to my standards, I become upset at myself.
I preach to others, over and over again, the need to be patient with themselves and the need to give themselves breaks. But when it comes to myself, I often fail to practice what I preach. Even as I type this reflection, I am saying to myself, “Yeah. You should do better. Why can’t you seem to get it right?”
We are all called to be perfected; but, that is for another time and another place. While we are in our corporal bodies in this sinful world, we are not going to reach perfection. We can only strive for perfection. We will be perfected by our Lord in the age to come. That doesn’t give us an excuse not to try. We must always seek perfection. We just need to remind ourselves to be patient because perfection will not come to us in the world.
Patience. It is a virtue that we desperately need; yet, it is a virtue that we often fail to embrace. Be patient with yourself today. God exercises extreme patience with us because He loves us so much. Don’t you think He would want us to be patient with ourselves?
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to help you to be patient with yourself.
Remember: The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence