patience is a virtue.

This week on the phone these things were said to me:

 

"You must really love to hear the sound of your own voice."

 

"Thank you for wasting both my time and yours with this conversation."

 

"Since you are such a great leader and so amazing at the work you doing over there you need to answer...." (in case you missed the sarcasm, it was laid on thick).

 

Needless to say this combined with other parts of life have required a little extra patience this week. I don't like for people to speak rude to me. I don't particularly enjoy having my work questioned, having the work my staff are doing questioned, or feeling like I need to defend myself to someone who doesn't deserve an explanation.

In these situations I want to scream at the top of my lungs, I want to bring my own sarcastic skills to the table (because ask Coy - I am painfully good at this), and I even occasionally want to punch someone in the face. When in actuality I respond to these situations with as must patience as I can muster. Sometimes this patience is only enough to keep me from screaming and other times I have a patience which seems could go on for days and days. But no matter how much excess patience or lack of patience I have going on...it is really hard work.

Patience is hard, it doesn't come easy, and it is definitely not my naturally tendency in emotionally and mentally trying situations.

However, just as in my professional life (where I must maintain patience or risk losing my credibility, my respect, or even my job) my personal life requires just as must patience. Patience is required in many situations in life. Whether it is patience with a rude man on the phone or maintaining patience while I fight rush hour traffic on my commute home, or patience as Coy and I want to have a baby...patience is necessary and it is hard and it something I pray for almost daily. I can never have enough patience and I am constantly in need of more. Luckily for me, God had been answering my prayers and seems to give me more and more patience as the days go by (something I have always struggled with having enough of)...yet, I still have so far to go. Every day is a struggle and I am so thankful that I can call on a God who answers my prayers, who supplies my needs, and who seems to give me the strength to get through another day and other situation when it seems I have nothing less to give.