“Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing…” (1 Peter 3:3 World English Bible)
REFLECTION
I believe that while good grooming has its place, inner beauty is far more important than what we look like. This belief was put to the test while waiting in a hair salon. I sought to make the best use of the time and worked on emails etc. However, after waiting for around two hours my patience was at snapping point. But, praise God, I paused and prayed, and instead of snapping at the stressed stylist, I asked questions with a smile (albeit in a slightly high pitched tone), peacefully discovered the reason for the delay, helped all involved to learn from the experience and embraced the opportunity to practice patience. And, by the grace of God, patience prevailed. I was reminded that while we do need to deal with delays etc., how we treat people in the process is far more important than personal preferences. External beauty (in all its forms) is fleeting, but the beauty of patience is eternal. So let’s pray to stay in sync with the Holy Spirit, from whence patience comes.
PRAYER POEM
LORD, thank You for being perfectly patient with me, in valleys and victory. Empower me to stay prayerful and be ever so careful in what I say and do, allowing patience to do its work in me and point precious people to You.
