Dear Patience,

Where have you been?  Seriously, where were you a few months ago when you were nowhere to be found and I nearly lost it at work?  LOL  Wow doesn’t it feel sometimes like out of nowhere your patience seems to loose itself and all you are left with is anger, frustration, anxiety and the lack of hope for a better day?  I was just like that just a few months ago.  Talk about snapping like a twig at the drop of a dime.  My daily commute is anywhere from an hour to whatever the good graces of the highway decide to bless me with.  By the time I’d get to work I would be so agitated starting off my day on the wrong foot.  I had this “the sky is falling” attitude the rest of the day.  I would go as far as texting my husband and literally stressing him out with my rants.  Yes…I am guilty of every human nature possible.  But over time I learned a valuable lesson that I’m so glad has changed my attitude and my life…plus my hubby doesn’t get those awful negative text all day.  Do you see how your negative attitude does actually trickle down even when you don’t think it does?  So why patience today?  Well today was one of those days for me.  Talk about testing my patience like you couldn’t imagine.  This morning I spent a little over 2 HOURS sitting in traffic.  I think had I gotten out of my truck I would have arrived to work so much faster if I had jogged the 3o something miles.   But of course, I barely jog one lap around my neighborhood, so obviously that 30 something mile trek was definitely not about to happen.  So I sat there…not moving an inch.  Now, there were two options at this point.  Option 1…the obvious…I could throw a temper tantrum, call and rant to my husband and get myself all worked up over my dilemma and stress over being over an hour late to work.  Or Option 2…just let it go!  Yup…I did what my sister-in-law preaches to us…”Just Frozen It” lol.  I CHOSE to not get angry, not get frustrated, not allow all my emotions to get the better part of me.  Now keep in mind, had I gotten upset and all bent out of shape, what was that going to fix?  Would the traffic move faster?  Would I make it on time to work?  The answer is NO!  Nothing would change the situation at hand.  It was what it was and all I could do was just sit and be PATIENT.  Talk about trying my patience.  Over these past months I have grown so much as my journey with God continues.  I have learned so many things about myself and on how to handle all types of situations.  I learned that in anything in life I had to learn to be patient and wait on God.  I couldn’t just sit there getting worked up and feeling all negative and down because whatever I was praying for just didn’t happen.  I couldn’t get upset because I still hadn’t found a new job.  I couldn’t get frustrated because my insurance company was fighting my auto accident case.  I couldn’t allow my boss’s slow typing to continue agitating me.  And I really couldn’t get upset when the traffic was at a stand still and I was most likely going to be late to work.  I had learned to navigate my emotions and instead of getting all angry and upset, losing ALL my patience, I learned to accept the situation and handle it in a more calm way.  Since traffic wasn’t moving I made notes on future blog post, I sang my worship music and I called into work and told my boss I was going to be late due to the traffic.  I didn’t allow all this to get me down and steal my joy.  And after 2 hours in traffic I arrived to work with a smile still on my face thankful that I arrived safely.  The entire day I stayed in a place of joy and my day went smoothly.  Don’t get me wrong, not everyday is a smooth running day but today was.  And after a long battle with my insurance today I had great news.  I learned to be patient and trust that God was handling everything in my life, even the traffic.  So I was late to work…guess what?  The world did not crumble under my feet.  I survived, the company survived and I stayed at peace.  There may be something you have been praying for…maybe you have been searching for that special person in your life, or maybe a new job, a new home, or you are waiting on that big promotion.  Know that if you just put all your trust in God and are patient while you wait, God will bless you with what He feels is best for you.  He is waiting on you to give it ALL to Him so he can bless you with that special person, job promotion, new home, new job.  Whatever it is you are praying for…today start by thanking Him instead of asking Him.  Thank God for that special person he is bringing into your life, that new promotion, that new home, that new job and watch as God blesses you.  God only wants what’s best for you.

XOXO…Ileen

Psst…God Loves You

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”  Galatians 6:9