If you've known me for any length of time, you'll quickly come to realize that while I can be the most patient person in the long term, I can be the most impatient person you'll ever meet in the short term. And even worse, you will come to find that I am even less patient with other humans.
In much of our modern media, we face a message that being impatient is okay, that if we just fight loud enough and recklessly enough that eventually we'll force things to go our way. Often times, it is portrayed as being rewarding for being impatient.
But messages like that don't ever really successfully transfer over to real life. Sometimes we need something different, something besides that which society tells us over and over again.
I found the message I needed in Anelthalien by H.A. Pruitt.
Anelthlalien follows Kindle as she is ripped from her home planet and thrown in the unknown world of Anelthalien, along with three other humans from Earth. Naturally, Kindle's first reaction is fear. She doesn't know what's going on, where she is, or why. And with that, she becomes impatient.
Now I have a confession to make. I didn't really like Kindle at first. She was a little spoiled and only a little annoying. However, as I continued to read, I saw more and more of myself in her. If I had been thrown into a new world, I wouldn't have been the quiet, passive Andrew, or the angry Ted. I would've been Kindle, demanding answers and an explanation. I would want to know exactly what I was doing there and why. Like Kindle, I would want to be in control.
And after meeting Ted I couldn't help but side with Kindle even more. She had a very short temper with Ted's attitude and anger. She wasn't very patient with him at all.
And neither am I. I tend to be extremely impatient with others, especially when it comes to the things that affect me. I like having control over situations and over people, and that can be very detrimental.
And do you wanna hear something really ironic? When I started reading Anelthalien, I was impatient! I thought they spent way to much time with the Cifra, I felt the book dragged a bit to begin with. And I thought it took much too long for them to train for their quest.
But maybe, they took just the exact amount of time they needed.
Sometimes we are given our purposes before we are able to accomplish them. I believe this is to teach us discipline. I have always been a gun-ho person. When I get an idea in my head, I don't let anything stop me until it is complete. But sometimes that's not how life works. Sometimes we get that idea, but we can't act on it at that exact moment. Sometimes we have to wait. Because sometimes we aren't ready to fulfil that dream. Maybe because we're too weak, or ignorant, or maybe because we are too prideful.
Anelthalien reminded me that everything does happen in it's own perfect time, and that God wants us to be patient and wait on Him in everything. I don't know how many times I tried to force my way through a situation, only to make it worse, like smearing peanut butter across the counter. And as soon as I threw up my hands and declared myself finished and that only God could fix it, He calmly came in and cleaned it all up in beautiful ways I couldn't imagine.
Anelthalien's different message brings to mind the story of Saul fighting the Philistines in Gilgal (1 Samuel 13:1-14) Saul had been given a very specific message from God about how to fight the Philistines and it included a lot of waiting and patience. But Saul grew impatient and decided to find his own way through. And because of his impatience and therefore disobedience, his kingdom was doomed to fail when it had been certain to thrive.
This passage clearly tells us that sometimes our impatience can actually lead to the prevention of blessings!
And when Kindle was having trouble being kind and loving to Ted (and later when she saw the fruit of being kind to him) it reminded me of Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." and Ephesians 4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
So when society tells you, you need to blast through life, breaking a path for yourself and your desires, or to try to fix problems, stop for a moment and think, is it actually going to help? Is this a situation I can actually change? Or am I going to be prohibiting blessings?
If you ever desire to hear something different, Anelthalien is waiting.
Learn more about Anelthalien at H.A. Puritt's website— HAPruitt | Official Author Site
Thank you so much for reading! As you can see, Anelthalien is loaded with all kinds of relatable and helpful messages. Tomorrow this blog tour about how Anelthalien has touched readers like you will continue with Niki at her blog— The Quiet Quill | Niki Florica
May the suns smile upon your presence!
—Effie Joe Stock