Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Patience
I'm not a very patient person. I've pretty much always been that way. Waiting for things to happen is not my strong suit. Perhaps this is the lesson God is trying to teach me right now.
I've been out of work for over two months (in case you hadn't caught that tidbit elsewhere in the blog), and it's driving me crazy. Ask my wife. I'm ready to work in the job I want right now. But perhaps my schedule is once again not in line with God's schedule.
How do you know when to listen for God's call? How do you know the call you're hearing is from God and not somewhere else? I don't have the answer to those questions, but I continue to seek them.
So, if I were a patient person, the events of this week would not be out of the ordinary. I'm finally getting a lot of activity on the job market, as I suspected would happen all along. I did have faith that I would not be out of work forever, and I had faith that I would end up in a job that I enjoyed and allowed me to continue my lifestyle. But I didn't have the patience to let it happen in its own time. As a result, I've burdened myself with a lot of pressure, stress, and frustration that I could have avoided. I could have enjoyed my time off a little more than I did.
Right after I got the news that I would be unemployed, I spoke with someone who had gone through the same situation about 6 months earlier. It only took him about 6 weeks to find a new job, one where he was much happier than the one where I knew him. Anyway, he mentioned that he really wished he had taken approach that his time off was a well-deserved vacation and enjoyed it more. At the time, I thought, "That's an excellent way of looking at the situation." He really inspired me. Then, about 10 minutes later, the inspiration went away, and the anguish of the upcoming job search came in.
As I sit here typing this afternoon, I'm of a mixed mind. I wish I had been more patient the last couple of months. I wish I had enjoyed myself more. I will say that I'm going to enjoy the time off I have left and make the most of it. And maybe, the next time I get impatient with myself or the world, I can look back at this time in my life and remember what I lost by losing patience. At least, I hope I can do that.
Entire contents of this site © 2003-2008 Eriq Oliver Neale/Simultaneous Pancakes Media unless otherwise noted. I hate that I have to point that out...I've been out of work for over two months (in case you hadn't caught that tidbit elsewhere in the blog), and it's driving me crazy. Ask my wife. I'm ready to work in the job I want right now. But perhaps my schedule is once again not in line with God's schedule.
How do you know when to listen for God's call? How do you know the call you're hearing is from God and not somewhere else? I don't have the answer to those questions, but I continue to seek them.
So, if I were a patient person, the events of this week would not be out of the ordinary. I'm finally getting a lot of activity on the job market, as I suspected would happen all along. I did have faith that I would not be out of work forever, and I had faith that I would end up in a job that I enjoyed and allowed me to continue my lifestyle. But I didn't have the patience to let it happen in its own time. As a result, I've burdened myself with a lot of pressure, stress, and frustration that I could have avoided. I could have enjoyed my time off a little more than I did.
Right after I got the news that I would be unemployed, I spoke with someone who had gone through the same situation about 6 months earlier. It only took him about 6 weeks to find a new job, one where he was much happier than the one where I knew him. Anyway, he mentioned that he really wished he had taken approach that his time off was a well-deserved vacation and enjoyed it more. At the time, I thought, "That's an excellent way of looking at the situation." He really inspired me. Then, about 10 minutes later, the inspiration went away, and the anguish of the upcoming job search came in.
As I sit here typing this afternoon, I'm of a mixed mind. I wish I had been more patient the last couple of months. I wish I had enjoyed myself more. I will say that I'm going to enjoy the time off I have left and make the most of it. And maybe, the next time I get impatient with myself or the world, I can look back at this time in my life and remember what I lost by losing patience. At least, I hope I can do that.
