Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Kwihangana - “to be patient”

One of the things I respect about Rwandan culture is that they do not rush. A friend once reflected to me that she was able to accept someone was late for a meeting because it turned out that person had gotten caught up being in community with others he met along the way. We reflected that Rwandans often value people and community over deadlines and fast conveniences. It is a good lesson in patience.

So often we’re so blinded by where we need to be, what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and what needs to be done next and next and next… we are “human doings” instead of “human beings”. We get irritated by people who make us wait, we get frustrated if things don’t happen quickly.

What would it look like if we rested in the fruit of patience?

The Bible reminds us many times to be patient - to be patient with others and with ourselves! Ephesians 4:2 says:

We are also reminded to be patient when waiting for a possible event or outcome we are hoping for. Romans 8:25 says:

This is the patience we are holding onto in our work with the DuHope Artisans - especially our new cohort.

While we have already seen incredible things with the new group, we know that there is still a long journey ahead - a journey of learning skills, healing from trauma, and building of confidence. We know that years of mistreatment and experiencing poverty can’t just be undone in two months; we know that finding stable employment will take time - but we have patience and we have hope.