Which do you Prefer: Patience or Tenacity?

Which do you prefer: Patience or Tenacity?

I like using words that help me draw pictures. Take the word patience. Parents with young children come to mind. The definition for patience is “the capacity for waiting: the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.”  That sounds just like a mother of preschoolers. Or I can visualize a father working with a child, teaching them how to build a bird feeder.  Showing children how to work with sharp tools takes lots of calm perseverance.

I also enjoy the word tenacity. Tenacious is defined as “determined or stubborn: tending to stick firmly to any decision, plan, or opinion without changing or doubting it.” Here’s another great word picture; I see a teenage girl, arms folded and her jaw set in defiance. Can you see her? Standing in front of her mother, daring her to try and change her mind. The daughter believes with all her being that Mother does not understand. She, the daughter, just needs to stick to her guns. She hopes that eventually, her mother will give in.

Different words, different pictures. But I like both actions when appropriate. In scripture, Jacob for example,  was patient when it came to love and having Rachel as his bride (Genesis 29:16-28), but he was anything but patient when he wrestled with God, (Genesis  32:22-30). His tenacity … his determination … besides giving him a wrenched hip, also gave Israel its new name.

What About You?

Can you say you’ve been both patient and tenacious at the right times? I’d love to hear about it … from one word-nerd to another.

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