Nothing in my adult life has tested my patience quite like sitting still, several times a day, for as long as an infant needed to nurse — no phone in easy reach, no multitasking, just stillness with a small person who operated on their own timeline entirely.
James connects the testing of faith directly to the growth of steadfastness (James 1:3) — not a pleasant connection, but an honest one. Those long, repetitive, unglamorous feeding sessions were not wasted time, even on the days they felt like it. They were quietly building a patience in me that I now draw on in ministry, in marriage, in every situation that refuses to move at my preferred speed.