Patience

I suppose this post, rather than about being patient, is more about my growing impatience. I've noticed recently that the littlest things tend to set me off. Things that usually wouldn't faze me because I don't care will now send me into a tizzy that lasts several hours if not several days.

Case in point, I was told about a basketball coach being fired after his team beat out the opponent 100-0. When I first heard about the story, I was under the impression that the other team had girls who were disabled in some way. I was more upset that the game was scheduled if that had been the case. However, as it turns out with some more careful researching, these girls went to a special school because they have learning disabilities. Now, I know there are plenty of pro-athletes with ADHD or dyslexia making their academic lives more difficult. However, just because you have a learning disability does not mean you are incapable of playing sports. I understand the outrage was due to sportmanship, but the girls on the losing team took it in stride and didn't whine about it. Instead the administrators on the winning team now feel like this somehow reflects badly on them.

This is only one of several instances where I've climbed up on my soapbox and ranted and raved, and I'm getting hit from all sides. It's not only news stories that are getting me riled up. I told Jeremy that I was praying for patience and he told me that in doing so, God would really test me and my resolve. So far, I've failed that miserably. I understand that the world doesn't revolve around me and I don't create the rules. I try to take a deep breath when I hear something that I know will irritate me, but so far, the measures I am taking are not working.

I suppose part of the problem is I care about the issues that get me worked up. My sister said these were the things I'm passionate about, but it goes deeper than that. I look around and this isn't the society that I would want my kids to grow up in. More than that, this isn't the place I want any kids to grow up in, but since I don't make the rules up and I can't expect everyone else to change, I can only work on myself. I will have to keep striving to be more patient and have faith that it will eventually happen.