The Fruit Of The Spirit: PATIENCE (For Younger Kids)

We are continuing with our series on The Fruits of The Spirit for younger kids! If you missed the other posts, follow the links on the "Index" page or click on the "Bible Lessons" or "Fruit Of The Spirit" label in the right-hand sidebar.

Remember, you can copy and paste all of the letters on this blog to send to your children! They are free for you to use!

You can change the bold letter text to customize the letter to you/your child's needs!

Dear (Name),

Hello little Prince/Princess! It gives me so much joy to write you another letter!

In my past few letters, I have been talking to you about the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Today, I want to talk about the fourth Fruit of the Spirit, which is PATIENCE! Patience is not just waiting for things, but it means having a good attitude while you wait. It means waiting without getting worried, excited, or anxious about having to wait. It is learning to wait without complaining. This is one of the hardest Fruits for me to learn. I don't like waiting for things!

One of the verses in the Bible that talks about PATIENCE is James 5:7. It says, "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield a valuable crop, patiently waiting for the seasonal rains."

This is a good example of patience. When you plant seeds in the ground, you don't expect them to grow in one day! You have to pull up the weeds, keep the insects and wild animals away, and pray for rain; but mostly, you have to wait patiently for the crop to grow. Good things often take time.

Patience is something that we get lots of chances to practice! Whether it is taking turns on the playground, patiently waiting for a teacher to help you at school, waiting for a smaller sibling who walks much slower than you do, standing in line, waiting for your parents to finish speaking before you ask them a question, waiting to receive a letter, and even waiting to grow up... these are all times when we can practice waiting without complaining!

Did you know that God is also very patient? 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord isn't slow about keeping his promises, like some people think He is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost." It's so good to know that even though we make mistakes and do wrong things in our lives, God is always patiently waiting for us to seek Him so He can forgive us and help us.

Do you like puzzles? Putting a puzzle together sometimes requires a lot of patience! I am sending you a puzzle that shows all the Fruits of the Spirit. Ask one of your teachers or leaders at your Compassion project to let you use a pair of scissors. Ask them to help you carefully cut along the grey lines, until you have 20 squares. Mix the squares all up, and then try to put them together again! You can turn it into a game with your family and friends... see who can put the puzzle together the fastest!

I love you so much (Name)... let's pray for each other that God will help us to be patient! I will write again soon.

Love, (Your Name)

Along with this letter, I included the Fruits of the Spirit puzzle found at Christian Preschool Printables! It comes with a color and black & white version. I used the colored version, but you could also send the black & white version so your kiddos can color it however they want to!

I also included this juicy Orange/Patience coloring page from the same site!

Have fun writing to your kids!