I Want It NOW!

I took this picture on Saturday as part of our rejoicing to finally have our driveway back, along with access to our garage. The County workers had put a note on our door warning us that our driveway would be blocked for up to seven days for road construction, but I guess that didn't count the driveway construction. We were blocked for two weeks. It really wasn't that bad except for Sunday evenings when our young adult One Another Group was meeting and they had to park a good ways away and walk a little rather than be right out front. But hey, they're all young and didn't think anything about it.
Did you ever think about the fact that being patient is just a theory until you HAVE to have it? It's easy to think of yourself as a patient person when everything is going smoothly and life is virtually stress free. An old Rootism of mine is "Red traffic lights are great when you're eating a DQ Blizzard." It's all a matter of perspective, or maybe more accurately, involvement. I know I am a lot more patient than I have been in the past, but just about the time I start feeling like I've got this baby conquered, I get smacked in the fact with my intolerance. It doesn't happen often. There is this genetic reality in the Root clan about what being hungry and tired does to some of our attitudes some of the time, but that has even diminished with age - at least for this Root.
We are the Captains of our own ship when it comes to smooth sailing in life. Impatience is a result of stress. Stress is a perceived lack of control. We decide whether or not we really need to be in control to begin with. Most of the things that stress us out and cause us to be impatient, really don't matter. Paul told us to be anxious about nothing and pray about everything. Boy, have we ever twisted that one around! But if you remember, the "peace that passes understanding" doesn't arrive until we get it right. (Philippians 4)