In faith we believe that the Holy Spirit's power can deeply permeate and transform our lives, even those troubling aspects we struggle with throughout our journey. 

I have noticed, or have had it revealed in obvious (and often humiliating ways) that if the fruit of patience has manifested itself in my life--it rotted on the vine before harvest. Comic relief can sometimes come to us when we see our struggle in the obvious absurdity of another's behavior.  I am reminded of Will Farrell in the movie,"Kicking and Screaming" where he goes to the back of a long line in a coffee shop to 'wait' for his coffee. The line doesn't move. The woman at the front of the line is engaging the 'barista' in a lengthy and exhaustive questioning of the ingredients within all the different drinks and which one she might like best. Those behind the woman in line are beginning to fidget, but Will Farrell at the back of the line is beginning to lose it. The woman almost makes up her mind and then becomes indecisive again and wants one more drink explained to her. Will Farrell  begins shouting choices to her and then pulls out his coffee card and begins in a loud voice to explain that he is a preferred 'coffee member' and needs his coffee drink NOW. He becomes louder and more obnoxious, and his impatience escalates to the point where he is making a scene. Eventually he is escorted out of the coffee shop, sans coffee. It was my kids, knowing full well the impatience of their mother, who laughed at Will Farrell's impatience in the coffee shop and couldn't wait to show me the movie clip. 

I have attempted to lead a more contemplative life, more patient and more gentle and pray for the fruits of the Holy Spirit--for myself and others. And just the other day--it became evident that I need to pray for more patience--immediately! I was a few minutes late getting to my "spiritual book-club" meeting (ah-the irony) and was the last to order my coffee and join the group. I was the only one in the line when the barista was conversing with me. He was making another drink or cleaning something up. I discussed my drink options (not like the lady in the movie!--I had it narrowed down to two options) and decided on my order quickly. He said he would be with me, 'In a minute" as a I pulled out my wallet to pay for the drink. He continued with what he had to finish up and said to me again, "I will be right with you." A few more minutes passed and I began to fidget with impatience,  the book club is waiting and I don't have my coffee. I even pulled out my coffee rewards card--flashing it towards the barista for quicker service. He had not yet made it to the register, and pleas for my patience a third time. I can feel my irritation growing and think to myself, "I don't want to wait any longer." Suddenly, time is up and I say, "Never mind, I have a meeting" and I walk off and sit down at the table for our book club. The women inquire about my coffee, and I explain in exasperation that I couldn't get any service.  I have a "Will Farrell tone of voice", but it is not funny. 

    

Most people react negatively, or in kind to the non-fruits of the Spirit, meaning hate, violence, impatience, rudeness, greed, disbelief, harshness of lack of self-control. So to be confronted with my impatience with this man's generosity and kindness was....well, unexpected. The kindness and patience touched me. I kept thinking about his kind reaction to my rudeness. I also thought about the fact that lack of patience only takes a self-centered view, without seeing the situation of the other. I had known nothing about his situation; he may have had a boss in the back room who was about to come out and check on him to see if he had cleaned up everything. Maybe he desperately needed this job and was doing whatever needed to be done to keep his job, before waiting on the customer. For my part I hadn't even been stressed or in a hurry that day, and yet I had acted impatient. Most of all I thought about his reaction to me--only four women had seen his act of generosity and patience. A small incident, but how many small incidents everyday bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit or the lack of? 

    

I remember author and speaker Steven Covey sharing a story about getting on a subway in New York on a Sunday and wanting to quietly read his newspaper en-route. At one of the stops a man got on the subway, along with four young boys who began running and yelling in the car, generally being quite disruptive. Steven Covey watched this go on, as did other passengers who seemed to be as impatient with the children's behavior as he was. The father just sat there, oblivious to the disruption. Steven explained that after about twenty minutes of disruption he was growing increasingly irritated and impatient with, not only the children, but with the father who was doing nothing. He finally said something to the father. The father seemed startled, surprised, as if he had not heard or seen any of the disruption. He apologized profusely and explained that they had just come from the hospital where his wife was dying of cancer. That explanation put an entirely different lens on the situation. 

   

There are layers to everything we see and do. The spiritual life means opening to the Holy Spirit in every situation, allowing yourself to look beyond the impatience, lack of self-control, peace, joy or love we feel or see in others and ourselves. It means stepping back and giving the Holy Spirit room to work, giving the fruit time to ripen in us. Hold back and observe your own reactions, see if you can invite the Holy Spirit to transform you. Perhaps we can find the time to wait for our coffee after all.