And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

— Galatians 6:9 (KJV)

There’s a point in helping someone learn something when the explanation that made perfect sense to me just isn’t getting through. If I’m showing a friend how to put a page online, for example, I might have to go back and explain which copy of the file we’re looking at before the upload steps make sense.

It takes patience to start again. I’d like to remember how often I’ve needed someone to slow down for me. Sometimes the best thing I can do is hand the keyboard back and let the person try one step while I sit there. They’ll get a chance to ask a more specific question once they see where they’re stuck.

This verse reminds me that good work can take longer than I expected. I don’t have to see the whole result to give someone another few minutes of my attention.