Let it rain...

Like the first drop of rain that starts a torrential storm, my day started small and mundane, but grew to become pivotal and poignant (Or as pivotal as any normal weekday can be). As I pressed my shirt and straightened my tie, I thought about the day that lay ahead of me. I work in retail banking, and anyone who has ever had a job that deals with customer service or people in general realize the challenge that comes with it. Therefore, on the way to work I thought about the customers I’d be dealing with and new coworkers I’d be working with. I took a moment to pray. In this small prayer, I asked God for the patience to help me through the day. Eight hours later, I was driving home on the tail end of rush hour and felt seething anger about the outrageous customer demands and beliefs on how I should do my job. My patience and I had graciously asked for seemed to never materialize.

Later that night, I heard a phrase that I hope and pray would stay with me for the rest of my life. ‘When you ask God for patience, does He just give you patience? Or does He give you opportunities to be patient?” After getting over the strange timing of this simple phrase, I began to look back on my day. In fact, God had given quite a number of opportunities to be patient, some might say, too many. Now like I said before, this started small. But like a seed that is nurtured and tended to, this small start began to thrive.

In my own personal times of darkness or doubt, I’ve dared to ask God to provide a sign that He truly exists and that good things can happen to good people. And right before I laugh and think I’ve called God’s bluff, I hear a story about my nieces or nephews that remind me that I have four beautiful miracles in my own family, or I stumble across the blessing that everyone I know and love are in my life, or I discover the truth that are the gifts and abilities I have been given in spite of recognition of where they came from.

When I was growing up and had a much more colorful relationship with my parents than I do now, I prayed that they would just understand me and that someday we would be close. Now, God didn’t just pour extra love into our hearts and deliver the “How To Be A Family for Dummies” book on our front porch. He gave and continues to give us opportunities to know what love truly is. The past months have made me realize that painful challenges and unconditional love can subside in one heart and make that heart beat faster and stronger with every breath you take.

Whether they are medical ailments, personal demons, or simple growing pains, the struggles one faces are what bad days are truly made of. However, after a day that started with a small prayer for patience and ended with a giant revelation, I know now that these bad days we face today, prove to be the answers we find tomorrow.

(Not pictured: Miracle #4)