Patience and Gratitude: 2 contributions any person can offer

Patience and gratitude. These are two important contributions that every person can offer. I was most aware of their importance as first I was stuck in traffic Tuesday on my way from my home in Norman to my office in Oklahoma City. (The areas of south Oklahoma City and Moore ravaged by Monday's tornado are in the path of my 25-mile commute.) That awareness has continued as I have gone far out of my way to avoid adding to traffic jams in critical areas the rest of the week. When I start to feel impatient as it takes me twice as long to go about my trip to work, I say a prayer for those who are stuck in traffic on their way to help -- and for those who are waiting for that help. Patience for me also involves acceptance that I don't have to help out with the recovery in tangible ways immediately. This isn't selfish. Right now, I am in a support role that demands my focus. There will be vital ways for me to directly help and serve after the headlines fade. As for gratitude, is this really always possible? From every story I've read or heard and from my own experience in a very minor support role, I have to believe the answer is yes. People who are hurting, grieving, frustrated and exhausted -- so many of them still seem to find and focus on the things that are positive: what they still have rather than what they've lost. Help. Hope. Precious moments. Faith. If they can do that, can I do any less? Gracious Lord, please help me be patient and grateful as I seek to know and do Your will today. I love You, I praise You, I trust You, and I thank You. May my words, thoughts, prayers and actions glorify You. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:11, 12 NASB) (As a friend points out: "Is not gratitude merely a manifestation of faith?" To which I would add: Patience for me also is possible only with faith in a God that I can't even find the right words to express how much I do love and trust and want to glorify.)