Sloth 5 - ImpatienceHave it your way"Have it your way", this fast-food slogan, is not just a catchy tag line, but rather a reflection of our culture.Paraphrasing a quoting Fr Dennis Spies, "Sin is: I want, what I want when I want it".God, we praise and thank you for giving us the freedom to choose how, when, and where to act. We are grateful for all the gifts you give us along our path to sainthood. We treasure the role model of St. Joseph and pray we grow in his virtues and characteristics. The skill of delayed gratification seems to be a lost art. I think this is why we see a rise in popularity in aesthetics in the faith world and why Lent is needed to help us get back on track.Remember sloth is turning away from God; an indifference to prayer and spending time with Him. Patience, or delayed gratification is an active dependence on God. Active in that we are still seeking God and His will, not idly sitting back and waiting for something to happen to us through divine intervention. To avoid sloth we need to intensify our prayer and disciplines to be spiritually engaged in order to receive fruit. This time spent with God is when He is renewing our spirit, sending us graces, aligning our hearts with His, preparing us for what is coming next.When we have disgust for work, want everything to come easy, or quit when things get tough, we are giving into sloth. I am certain the temptation was there for Joseph to stop short of reaching Egypt…it was a long journey, there were probably plenty of "fine" towns or villages along the route that they could settle in. Anyone that has traveled with an infant knows how challenging and extra demanding it is, but Joseph followed through in prayer and made his way to where God was telling him to go.Sloth may also disguise itself in an excited and energized way. The person who daydreams their time away; stands on their tiptoes to see what's on the other side of the fence, always jumping from one thing to the next; never finishing a project, or the well-meaning person that can never say "no" when asked to take on more; thinking they are doing something good; may just be hiding behind the busyness. We also find this when we are easily distracted, hoping for an interruption or longing to be anywhere else, doing anything else, but serving God in our current circumstances. I find it hard to imagine Joseph at work just hoping for a distraction to get away from his responsibilities. How easy it would have been to just spend all of this time with Jesus alone and fail in his duties to provide for his family. Instead, I picture Joseph including Jesus in his work, not as a diversion or escape, but as a collaborator, an assistant, helping him complete, to the best of their ability, the job at hand.Yet, there are times when God, like a good parent, withholds things from us because they are not good for us at this moment, they are unhealthy, harmful or He has something better to give us, and so we must have the skill of delayed gratification. I am sure Jesus' first tool given to him by Joseph was not a sharp, dangerous object, or too heavy for him to manage safely.It has been my experience that when something takes time to come to fruition, it is so much more appreciated than when it comes easily and quickly. The journey to completion can at times even better than the product. And until we get to heaven we are unfinished products.To avoid this distracted, inattentive, type of sloth, we need to be focused on the task at hand, even if we don't "have it our way". It requires prayer and patience as God refines us. Prayer is not changing God's mind, but rather, turning our hearts to be in-line with God's will. It is during this desert or formation time that God is preparing us, crafting/molding us, the way Joseph created in his craft of carpentry, useful articles/objects, like the way he taught his Son, Jesus."Lord, help us to want to "have it your way", as your way leads us on the path of...