The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior, which means “to suffer.” Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the fullest in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. When we know that we are God’s beloved and we are free to live in the house of love, all patience is co-patience—suffering with the suffering God, thus suffering and compassion that give birth to new life. “You will be weeping . . . you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy” (John 16:20).
