Being patient is very hard for a person to master, especially one who overthinks about the many possible outcomes.
Through my experiences, I have learned that God is someone who you can rely on no matter the situation, and the things that you want aren’t always the things that are good for you. However, I’ve also learned that sometimes the things you want come into your life, but God just wants you to work on who you are with Him.
Nate Chu, the director of the International Student Program at Taylor, said, “God has his own way of dealing with things.”
That is something that stuck with me even through my hardest of days because in the end, God only gives His toughest battles to His strongest servants, and it has made me feel as He’s given me challenges, I’ve become stronger and more patient with His timing.
The reason as to why this stuck to me was because Nate has seen me during the lowest moments of my life and a lot of what he said to me then resonated with what I was going through at the time.
Nate explained that, in his life, he’s been through many challenges from God that have led him to question whether his patience was aligned with God’s plans for him.
Maribel Magallanes, director of Student Leadership and Intercultural Programs, said God was someone people have to rely on for patience because people aren’t capable of knowing the future.
It’s been hard for me not to rely on what I feel needs to happen now because I know that God has allowed me to learn patience through Him. He’s done this by always being able to pull through with what is meant for me, and He shows me things that I can’t see for myself.
The fact is, it’s been hard for me to trust God with the things in my life, but in the end, He is the one who has always provided for me, but I was curious to hear from other people in my life.
Enoch Eicher, a friend of mine, explained he’s had many things that he’s wanted in his life, but at the time he realized that God was pulling him away from it.
In some form, I related to a lot of what he was saying. For example, my first semester of college was hard for me because I wasn’t patient, but one day I trusted God and was patient with him, which led me to pursuing a degree in communication.
Destiny Ortega, a good friend of mine, said, “I felt empty choosing things that God didn’t want for me, so that’s when I surrendered to Him.”
This powerful message from her was something that people need to understand. God has many things planned for us but indulging in things that are worldly and not right in his image are very troubling when it comes down to seeking him. That is why patience is a virtue that has to be obtained by trusting what the Lord has to say to us.
Through the powerful experiences that I’ve encountered through talking with these people have allowed me to see the different perspectives of putting trust and patience with God. He’s given everyone different experiences and to learn from those of others is relieving because we know that He is present with all of us.
God has given us the free will to decide if we should rest our worries and grow our patience with Him, and it would be very wise for us to take that option as His people.
Hugo Aleman is a sophomore communication major.
