No, Wait, Patience

“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”

I still don’t have it...

“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”
“No, Wait, Patience”


Sigh....If I don’t hate these 3 words..I really dislike them. I dislike them because I know their meaning but I can’t seem to listen to what they are telling me. I’m writing this blog in hopes that repeating myself over and over again will help it sink in. But I’m so bad with these words I may need more discipline..discipline similar to the discipline Harry Potter receives from Professor Umbridge in book 5. If you’re not a Harry Potter fan and have no idea what I’m talking about here is a fun link for you



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0MvE43Xrs



ok thats a little creepy...and I do deserve to be punished but Jesus paid for my sins in full on the cross. No need to inflict self injury but I do need to learn to listen to these 3 words “No, Wait, and Patience.” I’m such an impatient person and I know I’m not alone...I feel like society tries to make us that way. When everything is about speed and convenience there is no need for patience. Think about it...When is the last time you skipped the drive thru to go inside and wait (gasp) in line to order food? Although I don’t personally drive through drive thrus, I used to love going with friends to McDonald’s back when they had the drive thru timer...it was something ridiculous like have your food in 2 minutes or its free...we we’re always trying to race that timer to score a free burger. Or what about the mail...have you skipped sending a letter or card via air-mail because you consider it “snail-mail.” You want that message delivered right then and there so you skip the stamp, email it and then wait impatiently for a response. We are all guilty of impatience.



Today I was working in the photo lab at work where we advertise that you can have your photos in 1 hr. That’s pretty speedy...but not quick enough for today’s society. A customer inserted her flash drive into the photo kiosk and then selected some photos to be printed, entered a coupon code and hit submit order. After submitting the order she sat there staring at the screen looking very confused so I walked over to ask her if I could help her with anything. She said, “Yes. I just completed my order but I don’t have my pictures. They didn’t print out. I think the machine is jammed.” It was really difficult for me not to laugh...I apologized and then explained to her that the photos are sent to my computer and then I would print them for her. I was going to tell her they’d be ready in 15 minutes but before I could she said “Well I need them now! Can you print them now? It’s Mother’s Day and I have to have them now!” At that point, I really wanted to point out that it was a 1 hour photo lab not an instant photo lab, but I didn’t...I printed her photos in less than 15 minutes. But do you see how impatient she was? Why should that impatience be rewarded? It shouldn’t be.

I experienced this same kind of scenario while working at Disney. Everyone wanted to meet Mickey and Minnie but no one wanted to wait in line to meet them. One day I was hanging out with the Boss (Mickey Mouse—for those of you who don’t know Disney lingo), when a group of girls approached the attendant (the person in charge of the line) and said “we are athletes, can we skip the line?” hahahah umm no. you have to wait to meet Mickey just like everyone else. Did you know they give out fast passes to meet Mickey and Minnie now? So impatient...



So those are some fun little examples of impatience in the service industry but what happens when being impatient gets personal?? Unfortunately that’s what happened to me tonight. I was impatient and potentially ruined a possible friendship. I’ve been asking this person the same question repeatedly over the past week and instead of patiently waiting for a response I pushed, poked and squeezed at them until they exploded with a no. Imagine squeezing a balloon slowly until it eventually pops...thats me being impatient testing my boundaries. Bad idea.



Joshua 14:6-15  (this is a brief....you should read it on your own)

The Lord kept Caleb alive and well for 45 years to fulfill a promise. A promise of inherited land....Caleb could have chosen to be impatient and try to claim his promised land before God’s time but instead he waited on God.   The lesson here is God rewards those who are patient and wait.



I want to be patient for God and wait for his promises for me. But how am I supposed to do this when I’m being so pushy...so impatient? I can’t. Would their answer have been yes if I hadn’t been so impatient for an answer...eh. probably not. But it could have prevented the explosion and kept hurtful feelings occurring from things being said and not said (sometimes lack of words hurts more). Am I sorry about how I handled the situation and hurt by the fact I may have ruined a possible friendship? Yes. Am I going to be a girl and cry about it? Maybe. Am I going to dwell on it? No. I am going to learn from my mistakes. I am a Christian, follower of Jesus, I am meant to be different...I will stand out from society’s impatient ways.



God will teach me patience when I ask for it and I’m asking for it now. I am thankful to my Father for not allowing me to go to bed tonight feeling hurt and angry but encouraged by the lessons he has to teach me. I pray for the strength to be patient and wait for what He has in store for me. Let me be less impatient with my family, friends and even enemies.

Patience is a virtue and I'm ready to add it to my Pearl Necklace

I dislike learning lessons the hard way...sigh....