As we were reading in our family devotions yesterday evening I was reminded of this quote. It has been one of my favorites over the years and every now and then I am reminded of it. I first found it in a church bulletin years ago. I immediately saw the need to save it for future reference so I cut it out of the bulletin and pasted it into my journal on Monday October 23, 2006.
As the plant slowly ripens its fruit, so we are to ripen our Christian character by patient waiting and patient enduring. Patience is a quiet virtue. It is apt to be overlooked and underestimated. But in reality it is one of the most precious of the Christian graces. No noisy virtues, the ostentatious graces , have their day;patience has eternity, And while it is the most precious it is also the most difficult. It is far easier to work than to wait, to be active than passive. But it is when we are still that we know God, when we wait upon God that we renew our strength. Patience places the soul in the condition in which it is most susceptible to the quickening influences of heaven and most ready to take advantage of new opportunities.
-H. Macmillian
