Pain, persistence and patience 

In the glorious aftermath of Andy Murray’s amazing Wimbledon victory in July 2013, I was struck afresh at the journey of pain, persistence and patience that has been required by both player and fan in getting to this point. On the eve of Wimbledon I sat glued to the amazing documentary Andy Murray: The Man behind the Racquet. It was a brilliant and fascinating insight into the reality of the hard work, patience and persistence that has been required to enable Andy Murray to be the player he is today. 

A fruit of the Spirit

Patience can be a virtue and is also a flavour or outworked demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) but it seems in the age in which we live, where we both expect and crave for the instant, that patience is something that we often do not like the taste of.

There have even been attempts to significantly reduce the frequency of queues in our lives. Social Media, instant access, constantly being ‘switched on’ and not expecting to wait often has become to many of us the diet to which we feel we are accustomed.

Prepared to be patient

And yet, throughout the Wimbledon fortnight people are very happy to queue up for many hours just to get a ticket to enter the grounds and watch lesser known players or even just the big matches on the big screen. The experience, the conversations in the queue, the journey to getting into the grounds, in a small way just like Andy Murray’s journey, are all worth it. It seems that when we really do want something we are more than prepared to wait for it!

Driven by the clock 

I realised just how ‘driven’ by time and the clock I was on my first visit to Africa. I was convinced that I was not that task-driven, but how wrong I was. Local people would see it as a great thing if they were late for work or a meeting, because it meant on the way they met with people, stopped to talk and give each other time. Living in London I just know that I so rarely see or practice this, it’s just not the done thing.

Is impatience ever good?

There is a part of me that thinks at times, being impatient can be a good thing. If there is an injustice it seems valid and vital to become impatient about it; not to act would seem inhuman and unjust. At times we need that urgency, that impatience, that stirring, that propels us in a good way to action.

Patience and growth

However, when it comes to spirituality, relationships and much of the important things of life, patience is needed. We do, just like Andy Murray, need to take time to cultivate ways of being, to be patient to learn, grow and develop. Just like the art of growing fruit, we need to care for the plant, giving it time and attention to reap the benefits. This is also the case with discipleship and patience. It’s a hard road at times, but we need to keep going, keep acting, keep cultivating in order to see the fruit. 

Patience then really is a virtue and can lead to some great things.