#FamilyFriday | Patience

Have you ever gone to another country and weren't able to speak the language? Maybe just Spanish class in high school? How frustrating was it that you weren't able to explain your thoughts and desires? ...Especially when it came time to go to the bathroom!?! Yeah, it's hard. That's why Jonathan and I decided that we wanted to teach Hadassah sign language.

We started out when she was about 7 months, when she was just starting to eat solid foods. We wanted her to be able to tell us when she was hungry, tired, and if she wanted more. It was a little rough at first and I felt like I was going crazy, repeating things over and over and over...and over... and over again. But when she caught on, we were the proudest parents. Ever. In the history of parents. Looking back now, I can't even imagine her not being able to communicate with us for another whole year! 

A few months ago, around her first birthday, we started teaching her "patience." I actually don't know the sign for patience, but we did know how to sign "wait a minute" in Hebrew, which fit with our little one. She caught on pretty quick with that one. When she needs to have patience, we tell her first to have patience, and then tell her to sign "patience" to whoever we're waiting on. That way she can sign it to them and it's more interactive and fun. I can't even begin to tell you what a miracle worker it is! It's amazing! 

And for those times when we need a lot of patience, I recently added a song from when I was growing up. It's a little scary how some things stick with you from your childhood. One day I was telling Hadassah to be patient, and this song just started coming out of my mouth! "Have patience, Have patience, Don't be in such a hurry..." She almost always starts giggling and dancing along to the song.

And the cherry on top is, almost every single time that Hadassah needs to be patient, I need to be patient as well. We're helping one another learn to be patient. :) 

This #FamilyFriday, what's something that you're impatient about? Your boss, your coworker, your spouse, your kids? Maybe you're impatient with God? (That one happens with us a lot.) Identify those people or areas of impatience and start to look for the ways that you're growing more patient, more mature, and more godly through those difficult times of waiting. Thank God for having patience with us to learn these lessons. Shabbat shalom!