...for the Impatient

Patience is a virtue.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Patience and fortitude conquer all things.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

The list literally NEVER ENDS.

I understand how important patience is, but sometimes it feels like I will never reach that end point. Like waiting in line for your favorite band to play or for your mom's fresh baked cookies to come out of the oven, the time in between the wait and the end result seems endless. I am not naturally an impatient person, but when I want something to be done, I'd rather the process be hurried rather than tedious.

The problem is, I find myself impatient in times where patience is most needed.

Impatience during a red light: normal

Impatience when I have to use the restroom: normal

Impatience at church when I don't understand the service: normal, but frowned upon

I am someone who loves to know how things work. For example, I was reading about a documentary on a nuclear waste bunker and how waste is decomposed, and I was interested because that had legitimately been on my mind plenty of times before and now that I knew how it worked, I could cross that off my list.

Now that I've let you know how odd I am, I think I can move on...

My point is, knowledge is key to me. I hate being out of the loop and being the last one to grasp the reasoning behind a topic or not being able to affect how quickly something happens, and lately, that is all I have felt.

I want to be able to give up that desire to control every aspect in my life and just sit back and wait.

Wait.

What an under-used word in my opinion. I am surrounded by people who just go go go, including myself, and I forget to walk in the rain and have a conversation or just enjoy the company of someone away from a meeting or a scheduled gym session.

Patience is truly the biggest virtue I know of, and I take that for granted. I think since I find it so large, it overwhelms me and I don't quite know how to handle it.

I want to turn my rushing into waiting.

Patience during a class period: do-able

Patience through a lack of control: do-able

Patience in waiting for an unforeseen future: do-able, and in the process of working through.

As I work through waiting out of line patiently for the outcome unknown to me, I ask you this:

What will you do? Give up control and walk in the rain, or wait impatiently in a never-ending line for an end result that may not be worth the hurried rush?

for Jenna Walmsley