Lesson Learned

I believe in the power of prayer.  Having seen prayer work miracles in my life and the lives of others, it would be foolish for me to deny that prayer works.

Having said that, I have been taught a lesson about praying...be very careful what you ask for, you might get it.  I know I have many lessons to learn.  Some are subtle, some slap  you in the face.

Dear Lord, give me patience, and hurry up, please.

Number one on my list of things to never again ask...never ask for patience.

We humans, being made in God's image, should know that if we have a sense of humor God has one, too.  It's like dreaming about eating a giant marshmallow and waking up to find your pillow gone.  So, being among the most foolish of mortals, I prayed for patience.

It doesn't matter what the circumstances are.  It could be the aches and pains that traumatize a loved one, and I am sick of being sympathetic.  It could be the lack of response from a friend or the car that raids my wallet every time I turn the key.  It could be the tripping over the same box in my basement from Hades.  It could be prices going up and my wages going down. Whatever.

My lesson?  God does not grant patience.  Instead, He sends annoyance after annoyance in our daily lives to prove to us how much patience we already possess.  If we didn't already have the patience we ask for, surely we would have killed somebody by now.

In His infinite wisdom He makes it clear that we were already given a modicum of patience.  That is why we suffer in silence while the spouse gripes, why we keep trying to teach a child to tie his shoes, why we try to get the scales right yet again on the piano.  It is why we haven't throttled the blue-haired woman in Walmart on Christmas Eve who has twenty-seven bags of Hershey kisses in the twenty-item line, and paying for them with rolls of nickels. Did you know Walmart will not accept rolls of coins? Nope, they have to be counted individually. Another lesson learned. My grandkids love those peanut-butter cookies with the kiss in the middle, she tells the bored cashier.  I'm sure they do, lady, but twenty-seven bags???

If we pray for patience we are shown how much we have.  If we pray for material wealth, we are reminded how much we have by tripping over the box of junk in the basement.  If we ask for love, we are suddenly surrounded by caring friends.  Our needs are met when we have faith, maybe not as we desire, but met just the same.

I wonder what will happen if I pray for courage?