Can you recall song lyrics from your youth? Or course you can! Those were most likely the days when you enjoyed a simpler, more focused life. You were probably able to think about school, clothes, sports practices, that part-time job, music and who liked whom. You probably drove your car, showered, relaxed in your room and danced — surrounded by music that seeped into your soul because you immersed yourself in the sound.

And I’ll bet you listened to it with the volume turned way up.

As the years roll along I find myself pressing volume controls down, just as my parents did. As a teenager I promised myself that I would not do this, for music seemed at its best when it surrounded me, blocking out the rest of my senses. But after a busy day of working with teenagers, attending meetings, short order cooking and ferrying kids hither and yon, most everything loud is jarring and overwhelming. When noise tests my patience I frequently ask my kids to grab their headsets (fondly called “anti-social devices” by my husband) so they can enjoy their music at a volume they are free to set without sharing it with the rest of the world.

Entice me with music from the sixties and seventies, however —the music of my youth — and even I experience a nearly uncontrollable urge to let it rip. I turn that volume up and dance a little, completely humiliating my children and enjoying every silly minute! And what about those lyrics? Long-lost words spring up from nowhere with the slightest prompting from a few, familiar cords. Where these lyrics are stored I do not know, but they are in there. I may struggle to recall my own cell phone number but those lyrics are stuck to me like glue.

It is now, as I traverse the roads of middle age, that I understand and honor the wisdom of my youth minister when he consistently pulled out his guitar and taught his rowdy band of teenagers through the use of praise and worship choruses. Many were verses found in the book of Psalms, set to simple melodies. Others were advice-filled phrases that even today rise out of me when life prompts them. One of my favorites goes like this:

Patience is a virtue, my son

Patience is a virtue and don’t you forget it!

All things come together for the Righteous One,

Patience is a virtue, my son.

Each time I privately test myself by mentally listing the nine Fruits of the Spirit, I begin to hum the patience chorus when I reach this fourth fruit. It is a practical virtue and one I frequently observe in mature Christians. It is one of the surest signals that the Holy Spirit is active in a person’s life, for it is so frequently tested.

The longer I live the harder I work to wrap patience around my emotions, for it is a prized expression of faith. Patience is beautiful to witness, a powerful tool to create good, and a soothing gift to receive. And while it is okay to respond with impatience to such matters as racism, disrespect, gossip, and lying, the notion of patience is for everyone, every day. Not a one of us can live a day without being asked by circumstance to model patience.

The surprising thing is this: patience is frequently portrayed in the media in a less than glowing light. Patient people often appear as dull, resigned, and passive. They are placed in victimizing situations. When we are presented with such images we naturally prefer the rogue. The dark, defiant one. It seems prudent to identify with the steamrollers among us who know what they want and press on, no matter the cost. After all, we infrequently see strong, successful people in a reactive mode characterized by patience. They are making it happen and asking others to react, instead.

Ultimately, patience is love in action and the kind of love that God asks us to model daily. And for the Christian, a moment — or a season! — wrapped in patience is an opportunity to model the profound Christian concept that God is in control and trustworthy. If we trust Him enough to act in obedience and choose patience — however hard it may be — God will work out the details beyond our reach. With practice and the influence of God’s spirit, it is possible to feel stress and anger and still be able to dig deep and react with patience.

May we experience the success of patience this week, singing a beautiful song while we are at it.

Joan Bay Klope is a freelance writer and former editor of Christian books. Contact her at jbklope@hotmail.com.