Patience: The Virtue I Forgot.

I'm debating writing a book.

Aaannnndddd, that was a new record for me. I managed to keep a secret idea to myself for about 30 minutes this time. It's taken me 25 years to reach this point, so by the time I die I could conceiveably keep my mouth shut for...30 minutes. I'm allowing for my quiet quotient to double by the time I hit 50, but also figuring in that my brain will have degenerated back to current levels by age 75 (which is a normal life expectancy). This is not just me speaking. This is science, and it explains why old folks like to gossip so much.
The subject of the book? Learning how to wait patiently without honking the horn and yelling at the lady in front of me,"Grandma! The gas pedal isn't there for decorative purposes!" while in a mad rush to get to the next red light before her. Ok, so the lack of patience part isn't so much about actual road rage. Impatience on the road is simply my metaphor of choice for the way we all have a tendancy to want to get to the next life place faster, be it starting kindergarten, getting a driver's license, marriage, children, careers, education, retirement, buying our first big house, getting kids raised, etc.
In our hurry to get to the next place, we often fail to stop and appreciate what is happening where we are. When we're driving somewhere, we will get there (unless, of course, we get hit by a bus on the way) and normally, no amount of yelling and being mad will get us there any faster. In fact, the drive is normally a lot nicer when we just relax, especially for any victims I mean people in the car with us.
I'm all for planning for and being excited about the future. But when I get upset and impatient about where I am now, I think I cheat myself out of what really is a great time in my life. I mean, how much good does it really do me to have a pity party about being single, or that I still have 2 years of school left, or that...blah blah blah....you get the picture. No, life isn't what we thought it would be. I look at all of my friends and pretty much none of us are living the awesome lives we dreamed of as kids. Our rose colored glasses fell off (or in some cases, were violently knocked off) quite some time ago.
Almost everyone I know, be they 5 or 45, is waiting for the next phase. Waiting can suck if you let it get to you. On the other hand, waiting will teach us the most valuable lessons we can learn. All of these seasons that we go through have a set length for a reason, and often we can't understand what that reason is. I think it's so that our minds and hearts and emotions can reach a certain level, go through the fire if needed, and gradually be prepared for the next season.
Imagine if you got everything right in order, just like you wished and wanted? You'd probably be happy, but I can't imagine you'd be grounded very deep. All of these trials and this learning to walk by faith and trust God each day to get us to the next is what makes us able to withstand life when it doesn't go our way.
And I think I'm starting to talk in circles now that it's 3 AM. I think my awesome book idea just morphed a long way from what I originally envisioned after turning off my light to go to sleep at 1 AM. By tomorrow night, it'll be a potluck cookbook. Hey, who doesn't love a good jello salad recipe?