CIMPLE – A Curious Introvert's Musings & Photos about Life and Enjoyment

A Note from Jo on Patience by Joanna Gaines – Magnolia Journal

“In years past, asking me to wait has felt like asking me to give up or give in, to let the natural rhythm of the world find my way for me. I’ve believed that pause invites uncertainty, and in that void of unresolve, I’d begin feeling tempted to pick up speed to avoid falling behind.

So I’d rush through waiting. I’d say I’d be patient, then I would busy myself to death, picking up new things—a chore, a project, my phone—just to fill the empty space left in my arms. I’d fake wait. And every time the waiting was over and I was on the other side, I found I was still holding the same weight I started with: stress, worry, spun-out theories.

Instead of letting that time between teach and shape me, I pushed and shoved the sand through the hourglass, forgetting that so much gets worked out during the journey. Isn’t that where the endless choices exist? I’m learning that we can have all sorts of endings, but we also arrive there as a different version of ourselves based on how we hold the middle.

Call it waiting well; call it patience. For me, when I’m simply present for the in-between, that’s when clarity comes into focus, when growth digs its roots. It’s not a passive kind of pause but an active awareness of the weight it carries.”