Continue in Patience

Zac had an overnight business trip Wednesday night. He went with a couple of our corporate guys and they left early Wednesday morning. Beckham went to Aunt Kelsey's while Grayson, Sister Elva, and I went visiting teaching. I go teaching to three delightful ladies & Grayson loves their homes as well. They all dote on him and let him play with their animals and collectibles. He can feel their "grandma-ness" and loves it. He was so good! Our visits tend to go on longer than I ever plan and this time was no exception. He does awesome to speak politely with them and just play quietly while we're there. I had the lesson and chose to use Elder Uchtdorf's talk during the priesthood session from last conference titled, "Continue in Patience." So good. I had been talking to Denise previously in the week and she quoted some of it to me and I knew I would use it this month. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the talk:

"From that experience, I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen-patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort."
"There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can-working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"
"As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve. Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the doubt. Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself."
"Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. It means reigning in anger and holding back the unkind word. It means resisting evil, even when it appears to be making others rich."
"Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being 'willing to submit all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us, even as a child doth submit to his father.' Ultimately, patience means being 'firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord' every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so."
"Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most."

The whole talk is amazing-I've read it and re-read it over and over and love it. I'm grateful for the reminder to be aware of the growth we're doing during the waiting times and now looking back, I can see how true that statement is. Go read it if you haven't yet!