You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. (Franklin P. Jones, author)

Jones may have hit a sore spot for some of us. Children’s behavior can be exasperating at times. We might show a little tolerance with adults when their conduct displeases us, but when our children (or our neighbors’ kids) throw a tantrum, we can so easily lose patience. Perhaps, they are intended to be our testing ground to determine how well we are growing in endurance.

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness . . . and by our sincere love (2 Corinthians 6:6).