With uplifted arm he led them out, and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert. // Acts 13:17b-18
Teaching middle school is not something I would ever have chosen on my own. But obedience has put me in a middle-school classroom for the last ten years, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Though some call my sanity into question, I love teaching middle schoolers! Not only do I enjoy the opportunity to form young minds and hearts but, to be honest, middle school students are incredibly entertaining.
I admit, though, sometimes my darling students try my patience. I find myself looking at them askance, asking, “What made you think that was a good idea?” or “Can someone please explain to me how a Peep ended up on top of the projector?” (true story), or “Why are you taking your shoes off in the soccer field?”
At times, the Lord uses my students to show me myself. How many times have I gone my own way, done my own will, and walked away from Him? How often has sin separated me from His love? While I can imagine Him looking at me askance with what-were-you-thinking in His eyes, His voice only says, “I love you.”
It didn’t matter how often the Israelites turned away from Him. The Lord never left them but continued working His plan among them. That is the Lord’s patience. He “puts up with us in the desert” (see Acts 13:18) of this life drawing us closer to His Promise in the same way He led the Chosen People to the land of their inheritance.
We all have individuals, or groups, whom it seems God has given us just to help us grow in that great virtue of patience, whether it’s your children, students, family members, or co-workers. The next time you’re tempted to impatience, ask Our Lord to give you the grace not simply to put up with them, but to see them as He does and love them with His love, even when you want to ask, “What in the world were you thinking?” And sometimes, sister, the person you need to put up with most is yourself.
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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