Growth takes a great deal of patience i gather...

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other? " - God in the film Evan Almighty.

I think that too often we hope that God will just grant us what we ask of Him, without us understanding what He wants from us. He wants us to show discipline and effort, to prove to Him that we actually are willing to get our hands dirty doing what He will ask. If God thinks that we need more patience, I believe that He will put circumstances into our path that will make that obvious to us. In that way He puts the ball into our court, and gives us the opportunity to ask Him to give us patience. Like this quote says (I haven't actually seen the movie yet, although i really want to), He probably isn't just going to zap us with it, but He'll give us chances to grow in it. God knows what we can handle, and if He pushes us to do more, to give more, to go farther with Him, then He believes (well He KNOWS haha) that we can do it.

There was a clip from the movie Facing the Giants that was shown on sunday at City Centre Church talking about this. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vB59PkB0eQ ) In the clip there is a coach encouraging a football player to keep going. He is kneeling beside him on the ground as the player engages in an exercise known as the "death-walk" where you must carry another person on your back and walk on your hands and legs (no knees) a certain distance. As he moves alongside this kid he keeps saying "Don't quit!! You promised me your very best, your all!! Don't stop! Don't quit on me!! Your best, your best!! Keep going 'til you have nothing left!! I know you can give more, just a little farther!". I really think God wants us all to grow so much more, to be so much more than we are now. He wants us to give Him our best, our all; because when we do, he is showing us how to be stronger, wiser, more patient, more courageous, and more loving. Basically to be more like Him.