Patience PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev. Peter Cusick   
Floyd was his name--patience was his game.  He was maneuvering his little sailboat onto a beach where I was next in line for a little sail.  Floyd had on board a little kid whose duty it was to pull up on the center board of the little boat.  As they approached shore, I could hear Floyd giving instructions to the kid, "Okay, pull it up now!  Yep, now!  Pull it up!"  But, it is getting too late, the center board is dragging on the bottom of the lake, because Floyd has the boat that close to the shore.  Then all of a sudden, snap!  The center board breaks in two pieces and the housing of the center board is all smashed.  It's a little light boat and not meant for that kind of mistake.

So, now I've missed my cruise and I'm waiting to see whether the kid survives.  This kid is upset; he knows he's blown it.  Now to my amazement, Floyd treats the kid as though he simply dropped a cookie on the floor, or spilled a small glass of milk. 

The kid wrecked the boat--come on Floyd get a little upset!  But, no way, Floyd kept of saying, "Oh don't worry.  It's okay!  It's only a little break."  I'm thinking, 'Floyd! A little break!  What's a matter with you Floyd?'  Well, that boat never did get fixed and never sailed again.  But, I bet that young kid 'sailed again.'

I've been thinking today of a night prayer my parents taught me when I was little kid.  The prayer began, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon this little child…"  That's an interesting adjective--gentle.  What marks gentleness?  Henry Nouwen writes:   "Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu."

Then he goes on to say:   "Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force." 

Some 25 years later, I now see Floyd as a powerful man.  Powerful enough to care more for a little kid than a boat--and that, is something to think about.