Eighth Day of Christmas: My Favorite Attribute of Christ

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As I have been thinking about my relationship with Christ since we've been doing this, I've been trying to think about what I love most about Him. There are so many things that He's done for me. I really feel like I would be nothing without Him, and I don't mean that in a superficial way. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this. And as I've been thinking about our relationship and its ups and downs, I decided that the thing I love most about Him is His patience.

Jeffrey R. Holland once said:

Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it.

And He doesn't just deal with it. He still goes out of His way to be there for us, to help us, to love us. I've done some terribly frustrating things in my life. I still do, and it drives me absolutely crazy to think that I still do some things that I should have stopped or grown out of a long time ago. But when I pray and humbly seek God's forgiveness, He gives it to me. Every time. He doesn't roll His eyes and say, "Really? Let's see how long you'll last this time." He doesn't scold me for being weak. He doesn't give me the silent treatment. He wants me back, and He shows me that.

I'm not a very patient person by nature. As I think about the patience Christ has with me, I can't picture me ever having that. But I know deep down that His Atonement can not only act toward the remission of my sins, but it can also enable me to change to become more like Him.

I sometimes don't understand why He still forgives me and why He still puts up with me. If it were me, I would've thrown in the towel long, long ago. So I am forever grateful for the patience He has with each of us as we struggle through this life. I'm grateful for His understanding that each of us has different weaknesses and selfish desires, and that we can change. I only hope I can learn that type of patience.