Patience

This might be a heavy topic for some, but it's quite enlightening for me. I've always heard the term "be careful what you pray for", and I only understood what that statement really meant when I prayed for patience. 

I was always a bit hostile and made decisions a little too quickly. While that may not always end in disaster, I've never implemented boundaries when it comes to my hasty decisions, so I took a hostile approach to anything and everything. Thinking before I acted was a foreign concept and I had no desire to become familiar with it. Eventually, and because I'm quite self aware, I acknowledged this problem and implemented a plan to fix it. This plan started with prayer, and God left no space for me to change my mind. He answered immediately. 

Honestly, I was quite a bit shocked. I felt like my problem was so dire, that God was just at the edge of His seat waiting to deliver me. That feeling quickly passed and I got down to work. God had me in the ring for seven years, fighting against my past customs. Seven years, of tests. Seven years of trails. Seven years of what seemed like a plethora of situations to test my patience. Seven years of me saying "Lord, this test again?" and asking "when will it end?". Seven years of me stressing, fighting and of course complaining about the very same thing I prayed for. Then, God showed me the reason why He had me in the ring for seven years.

We often meet different people along this journey called life and there's always a reason, if we look hard enough. The people that are currently in my life requires the most amount of patience I ever had to extend to anyone. God trained me not only to be patient, but to be calm, rational and to really see behind the sin. Look beyond the actions of others and see them for who they really are, another soul for whom Christ died. Another being to love and to extend grace to. Another person to forgive and to help along their Spiritual journey. Had I not developed patience, I would have lost those who are now the most important people in my life. 

God knew who He was sending my way and He knew I was in no shape or form to receive them. Allowing god to work on us is another way to ensure your blessings. He'll bless you when youre ready, allow Him to get you ready.