Can you recall song lyrics from your youth? Of course you can! Those were most likely the days you enjoyed a simpler, more focused life. It was all about class assignments, sports practices, club events, that part-time job, music, and who liked whom. Whether you were driving, relaxing in your room or getting ready for school, you probably surrounded yourself with music that seeped into your soul because you immersed yourself in the sound.

And I 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 teen, I promised myself that I would not do this, for music seemed 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 running errands, these days loud music jars and overwhelms me.

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 up that volume and dance — completely humiliating my children and enjoying every silly minute.

“I don’t want to ever see you do that move again!” my daughter Katie will often say. But I’m not offended because I’ve only performed in the kitchen. And what about those lyrics? Long-lost words spring up from nowhere with the slightest prompting from a few, familiar chords. Where these lyrics are stored I do not know, but they are there. I may struggle to recall the address of our first house, but those lyrics became a part of me long ago.

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 teens 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 Fruit 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 whining, 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 circumstances to model patience.

The surprising thing is this: patience is frequently portrayed in the media in less than glowing light. Patient people often appear dull, resigned, boring and passive. They are placed in victimizing situations. When we are presented with such images we naturally prefer the rogue; the dark and defiant one. They appear far more interesting. It seems prudent to identify with the steamrollers among us who know what they want and press on, no matter the human cost. After all, we infrequently see strong, successful people modeling patience. Those scenarios take too long to portray.

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 a trustworthy, daily companion. If we trust Him enough to act in obedience and choose patience, however difficult that may be, God will work out those details beyond our reach. With practice and the influence of God’s spirit, it is possible to experience stress and anger and still be able to dig deep and react with patience.

May we choose patience this week, feel the reward, and react with a song.