Patience

PATIENCE, n. pa'shens. [L. patientia, from patior, to suffer.]1. The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from christian submission to the divine will.2. A calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent.3. The act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent. Have patience with me,and I will pay thee all. Matt.18.4. Perseverance; constancy in labor or exertion. He learnt with patience, and with meekness taught.5. The quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge. His rage was kindled and his patience gone.6. Sufferance; permission. [Not used.]7. A plant, a species of rumex of dock.
(Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

Waiting is to be our earthly schooling . . .

We've had a week of cold, damp weather that has kept us from planting soybeans. Is been so cool that the best place for the seed has been in the bag in the shed. So we patiently wait for warm weather and dry soil, and know that the Lord has promised us seedtime.

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:23

Actually, its been great weather if you were a duck - and I've been called worse. I love ducks. I have one of the most extensive vacation duck picture collections around. Thats pictures of ducks taken on vacation, not pictures of ducks taking vacations.

We used to raise ducks here on the farm for a few years. They are fun to watch waddling around, but they have this obsession with sidewalks and patios that leave an awful mess!

They are great eating - - especially after we finally figured out the proper cooking time. They are harder to dress than chickens, so we usually had someone else do it for us. The last batch we raised must have had some wild mallard in them, because when fall came they flew away. I think they heard the wife had a new recipe for Duck A La Orange!

Anyway, we wait and find odd things to do to use the time.