Perseverance = Patience

In four more days my mother and I will be getting on a 11 hour flight to Rome, Italy. I am so excited and extremely grateful that the Heavenly Father allowed this amazing opportunity to happen for us. This was always a dream, but I never thought it could come into reality. That was until I learned that perseverance = patience. This obstacle was not easy, and it much harder than it looked. You are probably wondering : Where is Gracelyn going with this? Just keeping reading and I will explain (well write it actually LOL!) Ahem... my mother and I heard about this awesome experience in a kmail (email for my school) and we realized that this could be an amazing adventure. I remember setting the idea aside in my brain thinking: It would be so cool to go to Greece and Italy! But can it really happen?. I soon started to doubt the whole idea and move on. But then when I went to the movie theather with my mom she got an email from the people who told us about the trip. Soon we prayed asking God to do his will silently while the movie was about to start. My mother whispered to me "Remember we can do all things through Christ because he gave us strength (Philippians 4:13)." After she gave me that prophetic message I soon removed all the doubt from my heart and started working towards the goal.
This is how I understood that perseverance = patience. But before I explain let's read the their definitions. Perseverance means steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success and patience means to wait without getting discouraged or upset. Okay now let's move on. It took a lot of perseverance to fund raise for our trip. Honestly, I do not like asking others for money so frequently I wanted to just quit. But my mother and God kept pushing me and reminded me about the goal. We signed up for this opportunity about 9 months ago and it took a whole lot of patience. Perseverance takes patience because you have to wait AND keeping working towards the goal. My mother and I had to raise the money, but also wait. Here is an brief example:

Kendra wants new Ugg boots but they cost $200 and she's broke. She is determined to reach her goal, so she starts a babysitting business and charges $10 an hour. She can only work on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings so it will take a little longer to conquer the obstacle, but Kendra has patience and is willing to wait to get the shoes. Often she would get tempted to spend her money on other things but fortunately she kept her eye on the prize. By the next month, Kendra had enough money to buy the boots! 

Meaningful Questions:
How did Kendra buy the shoes?
Did Kendra give up even though the goal looked too difficult?
Did Kendra get distracted because the goal looked too far away?

Once I personally answered those questions I realized that perseveance and patience went together. Because you need perseverance to not give up and you need patience to not get distracted! I know now that I have to work to conquer the obstacle but I also have to wait for it!

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV

*I challenge you to choose a goal, work for it, and wait for it!*

-Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip  or donate to my school website: https://personal.eftours.com/secure/make-donation.aspx?poid=DBE569FD&utm_medium=web&utm_source=paxsecure&utm_campaign=fundraising

 Also, please donate so I can go to Greece and Italy this month. My goal is to get 10 people to donate $10 by June 14th! Will you please donate?