What does biblical patience looks like in real motherhood with sticky floors, leftover bananas, and toddler chaos? This devotional for moms in the Fruit of the Spirit series explores how God uses the everyday mess to grow patient endurance in us, rooted in God’s promises and perfect timing.
Last week, I lost my patience, am I allowed to admit that? My voice rose in frustration and truthfully, anger as I looked at yet another banana peel on my floor. My floor. Why the floor? Why not at least up on a surface easy to grab?
As I moved forward in my daily clean-up after clocking out of my at-home job, I discovered the stash of snack wrappers. Why push them behind my pillow on my bed? Did they think I wouldn’t hear the crinkle as laid down after an exhausting day of motherhood? I remind them daily to pick up after themselves! And with that final thought, my patience wore and and my voice rose with frustration.
The word patience sometimes feels like a lofty ideal meant for quiet saints with the perfect homes, kitchens, and kids. Not for your average mom scraping leftover bananas off the floor while a toddler screams for snacks. Yet as followers of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit includes biblical patience, and God’s Word shows us that even in these small daily trials, patience is a virtue of faith that God grows in the soil of our everyday lives.
This is the fourth devotional and YouTube video in our devotional series for moms on the Fruit of the Spirit. The accompanying YouTube video includes our recipe of the week which was a Cucumber Salad with Feta Cheese.
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Other Devotionals in the Fruit of the Spirit for Moms series:
- Choosing Joy
- Peace in our Mothering
- A Mother’s Unconditional Love
- Biblical Patience: A Call to Moms
- Faithful to Our Calling
- A Devotional on Kindness
- Cultivating Self-Control
- The Power of Gentleness
- The Fruit of Goodness
Watch the Fruit of the Spirit for Moms devotional series on YouTube.
A Patient God in a Messy World
Back to this idea of biblical patience in the context of motherhood. When was the last time you lost your patience? Was it for a worthwhile reason? Chances are that it was. I find that I most often lose my patience in the context of our physical environment, and I often hear from moms who are thick in the trenches of motherhood that they experience the same.
That last banana peel can be a test of endurance and patience that rivals a full-on spiritual attack from the enemy. Who needs fiery darts and arrows when a strategic banana peel will do the trick? Who knew a banana peel could hold so much power? Of course, it’s not the banana peel that holds the power, but our tainted reaction.
But what if we flipped the script? What if that banana peel was a call to Christ?
When the New Testament speaks of patience, it often points us to Christ Jesus Himself. He is our perfect example of patience, displaying great patience even in the face of irritation and difficult circumstances. The Greek word for patience, “makrothumia,” literally means “long temper,” showing us that patience is not about pretending everything is fine but about slowing down anger and trusting in God’s timing.
What if we slipped the script and looked to Christ instead of our circumstances when our patience is being tested? What if we see it as an opportunity to worship instead of a moment of ‘mom suffering.’ Would our response be different?
Jesus’ Refusal to Rush
Our Lord Jesus Christ knew the temptation of impatience. He was tired, hungry, and surrounded by needy crowds. He had immense patience with His disciples, even when they misunderstood His teaching or argued among themselves. Instead of quick-tempered frustration, He showed compassionate hearts and steadfast love. His life was a conscious decision to trust the will of God above His own way.
The next time you feel the natural reaction to shout when the dog tips over the trash or your toddler smears peanut butter on your skirt right before church, remember that even Jesus, in spite of the vice around Him, chose patience. And let’s be clear, it is a natural reaction in our human nature. However, sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ. The Bible reminds us that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20). Instead, patient endurance in the trials of various kinds, even these seemingly insignificant mom moments of frustration produces perseverance and character in us.
For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20 ESV
Quick note – this book was incredibly helpful to me as I grew in my understanding that Jesus understands motherhood in a hands-on way.
Weeding, Waiting, and Patience in the Messy Mundane
Biblical patience isn’t about ignoring the mess. It’s about seeing the mess as a valuable crop God is growing in your home and heart, trusting Him to bring fruit in due season. Like a farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth (James 5:7), we can learn to wait on the Lord while continuing the good work He has set before us in motherhood.
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
James 5:7 ESV
My home currently consists of five young boys seven years old and younger. At the time of writing, three of them are two years old and younger. Plus, three of them are also fully diapered. Let me tell you what, our home is messy and my patience wanes thin sometimes as their limited capabilities wear on my nerves.
I strive for a clean home, often times to my detriment. Although I believe that children will thrive more abundantly in a tidy and clean home, I have also come to realize that my continuous striving for tidiness can lead to an abundance of sin when my heart makes the status of my home’s environment an idol of worship.
Practical cleaning/tidy home resources:
– Printable Chore Chart for Kids
– Cleaning Checklist
– 5 Routines for a Tidy Home
There are days it feels like you are pulling weeds more than you are seeing flowers. You pick up the same wrappers, and banana peels, address the same sibling squabbles, and guide little hearts away from evil devices and wicked schemes (like sneaking treats or testing boundaries). Yet even this “weeding” is kingdom work.
My gardens outside are struggling this year, mostly because of my lack of weeding and fertilizing. A whole other devotional is somewhere in that admission. If we don’t consistently remove weeds from our garden and tend to the soil, we will choke out the precious fruit, which is the whole point of crafting a garden! In the same way, when we patiently correct and train our children in love, we are removing the weeds of selfishness, impatience, and disobedience, creating good soil for God’s promises to take root.
I heard an amazing quote the other day that has been focusing my redirection with my children.
Correct for maturity.
Disciple for morality.
Patience is like tending a garden. It requires extra effort to water daily, pull weeds, and wait through seasons when nothing seems to be growing. Yet in God’s perfect timing, new life pushes through the soil. Motherhood may feel like a long weeding season, but God is cultivating first fruits of the Spirit in your family, nurturing compassionate hearts and steadfast love, even when the progress is hidden under dirt.
Motherhood and The Testing of Your Faith
Have you ever stood by the front door waiting for your kids to get their shoes on after you had been telling them for a good half an hour to get ready? You might say, “Let’s go! I told you we were leaving.” I wonder if our fast-paced culture, where we are constantly striving to arrive at the next thing, contributes to our strained patience.
Motherhood is the true test of patience in a world that rushes for the next thing. The testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and steadfastness leads to maturity (James 1:2-4). It requires extra effort to be a patient person when you feel pulled in all directions, but it’s a step of faith and leads to maturity.
God’s Word says,
The end of a thing is better than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8 ESV
O Lord, help us remember that the end of a day lived in patient love, even if messy, is more valuable than a perfect schedule accomplished in harshness.
God’s patience toward us is rooted in His kindness and love. Romans 2:4 speaks of the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, leading us to repentance. If our Heavenly Father shows great understanding and perfect patience toward us in our weakness, we too can reflect His steadfast love toward our children.
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4 ESV
Pause Before Reacting
The next time your triggers are pushed by a rotting banana peel, an untidy home, or an abundance of other motherhood triggers, I want you to make an effort to pause. Pause before reacting and question whether the situation is a correcting moment for maturity or a disciple moment for morality. The patience you extend has the potential to be kingdom work.
O Lord, thank You for Your perfect patience toward me, for the steadfast love You show when I fail. Help me to display biblical patience in my home, not in my own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit. As I weed out impatience and selfishness in my own heart and in the hearts of my children, help me to trust Your perfect timing, showing my family the kindness and patience You have shown me. May this fruit of the Spirit grow in my life for Your glory, and may I walk in the hope of the glory of God each day, waiting on Your promises with patient endurance. Amen.
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