A Lesson in Patience from a Sloth

Scott and I were recently in Costa Rica. We went on an excursion to the rainforest, visiting a number of beautiful destinations and sights, including a conservation park. Our guide, Alejandro del Piero, was a wealth of information on the birds, insects, and animals in the park. The most unusual? The sloth. We saw a number of sloths that day, even a mama and her kitten.

As I watched this creature slowly climb down a tree, I was reminded of the attributes of love God outlined in 1 Corinthians 13. The list begins with “Love is patient, love is kind.” It was my go-to verse when I was impatient with the boys when they were little. The words would calm me and remind me to be loving, patient, and kind.

Lori Wildenberg and I used 1 Corinthians 13 as the basis for 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting and the books, Raising Little Kids with Big Love and Raising Big Kids with Supernatural Love. In teaching and speaking on this topic, I’ve grown my patience muscles and helped a lot of parents do the same. What I realized that day in the forest, watching that slow moving creature was the only person I’m really impatient with these days is me.

A lot of the moms I work with express the same feeling. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Our personal expectations drive us to be impatient and self-deprecating. Camping on Philippians 4:5 helps, “know the Lord is near and be gentle” with everyone, self included! I am tired and ready to be gentle and patient with myself, like I try to be with others. Time to return to “Love is patient, love is kind.”

Click on the photo to see the video.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:5

© 2019 Becky Danielson. All rights reserved.

If this post is encouraging, please take a moment to subscribe to the Faith First Parent e-newsletter, join in the conversation on the Facebook page or share the post with a friend.