Bobby had a toy horse he liked to play with. It looked like a real horse, with a long tail that Bobby could comb. It even had a saddle he could take off and put on.
Bobby wanted a stall for his horse. His daddy told him, “Since you are nearly five, I think you could build a stall yourself. I have a hammer that is the right size for you and some nails, and here is some wood that you can use.”
Bobby was very excited and wanted to start building right away. But Daddy said, “Let’s wait until tomorrow when I have a day off work.”
Waiting one day wasn’t very long, but even so, it was going to take some patience for a five-year-old to wait even one day. Do you children know what the word “patience” means? “Patience” means to wait for something without fussing or complaining. Bobby could have stomped off and said he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. That would not have been pleasing to the Lord Jesus or his parents. Instead, Bobby used patience to wait one day.
The next day when Daddy was home, he and Bobby got everything together to build the stall. There were three big boards for the walls and a big piece of wood for the floor. Bobby held the hammer while Daddy held the boards together. Bobby gave a mighty WHACK! Not only did he miss the nail completely, but two pieces of wood broke and the hammer hit his finger! Poor Bobby went away, crying.
Bobby was more scared than hurt. After he calmed down, Daddy told him, “Thank the Lord you weren’t hurt badly. How about if we try again, but I’ll have to get more wood first.” Bobby agreed that he wanted to try again.
Then Daddy said, “Here’s a thick board. Why don’t you practice hammering before we work on the stall another day.”
The next day, Mother taught him how to hold the nails with one hand and the hammer with the other. Then Mother started several nails, so they were ready for Bobby to pound in, and soon he could do it all by himself.
That evening, Daddy came home with more wood. Daddy held the pieces together while Bobby pounded the nails. This time all went well. When they finished, Bobby was quite pleased as he put his toy horse into its stall. He was happy because he had learned to hammer the right way, and he had learned some patience, too.
Patience is a hard lesson, even for grown-ups. Sometimes we pray, and we don’t get an answer right away. We know the Lord Jesus answers all our prayers, but sometimes His answer is “Yes,” sometimes it is “No,” and sometimes He says, “Wait.” He knows what is best. He tells us to “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:77Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7)).
Messages of God’s Love 10/8/2023