what a virtue

I have recently pondered what may or may not be an age old question...what does God want us the most to learn and/or what does He value the most in us? It would be easy to say, live by the 10 commandments, or to treat others with kindness and respect. However, when reflecting as honestly on my life as I could, I have come to the theory that He values patience very highly. Patience can be hard to come by so it is not the most common commodity in the world. It even has its own cliché...."Patience is a virtue".

How did I come up my theory? It's simple. There are quite a number of reasons. One of those reasons is fairly obvious...I have children and not just one or two. I have 3 and one of them is like 3 kids in one, so in theory I am getting to deal with non-adult nonsense of 5 for the price of 3. Sort of a buy 3, get 2 free kind of deal. Personally, I prefer to get such a deal at the grocery store, but no one asked for my opinion in advance. If one or more children aren't fighting, they are scheming and getting busted, or in more innocent ways, they are utilizing their social calendars and requiring adult means of transportation. At times, a deep breath is all that's required to find patience with these urchins...at other times, it might take some prayers and a festive drink. I am pretty open minded so whatever it takes to avoid a mommy meltdown works for me.

Another reason can be found while in my car. There is a never ending supply of stupid and/or bad driving out there and to successfully retain the ability to remain above ground watering the daisies instead of pushing them up, requires an inordinate supply of patience. Oh, to be a traffic cop for even a few hours....I think once a year, we should all be granted temporary traffic deputy status. We'd get to lighten the wallets of stupid drivers everywhere and fill those ticket book quotas at the same time so the cops can worry about the bigger things, like armed robbery, donut shortages and mass murder. The other times I am convinced God loves the patient person best is how frequently I am treated to red lights or stuck behind slow or inattentive drivers in the turning lanes. The Lord must really think I need to learn this lesson because it happens almost every time I get behind the wheel of my car and often times I am running late for something, so it is a genuine test He lays out there for me. Thus, I do try to remember to thank Him when I actually get a green light or a long green arrow. I do not view it as sucking up, just being practical and thankful. One does not and cannot suck up to God, after all.

Those reasons are pretty compelling in support of my theory but I cannot leave out the biggest offender of all....appointments at the doctor's office. I mean, what is the point? You haul ass to be there on time so the tardy police don't give away your appointment to someone else and charge you for a no-show. You sign in and then you wait. In most cases, I would have time to order and pick up a pizza, or paint my toenails, with time to apply a second coat before my name is called. I would often also have time to eat said pizza or put on a top coat of polish with the amount of time I then sit in the examination room after I'm called back. Did you ever notice there are never clocks in the rooms? I would love to be able to offer that as an excuse for me not being somewhere on time..."I'm terribly sorry but I had no idea what time it was. How was I to know your hours ended an hour ago and you had somewhere to be?" God knows that is one of my biggest weaknesses...to find patience in a doctor's office, so He makes sure I work on it nearly every single time I set foot in one.

At any rate....I am seeking serenity, peace, joy, grace and of course, patience. If anyone happens to come across some, please be nice and share with the class. God favors the unselfish person, too, ya know.