Lessons on Waiting and Patience

You know how they say a watched pot never boils? Pretty sure you could also say that continuously glancing in the direction of the train/bus won't make it come any faster. I have had many times over the past month where I would get to the bus or train station just in time to see it pulling away from the stop. It depends on the day, but usually it's not too much of a wait - about 10-15 minutes or so. And fingers crossed, for most of the time, it has been in good weather!

But one morning this week, instead of sitting down and waiting for the bus, I decided to stand. I was wearing jeans, a sleeveless top and a light cardigan because I knew this afternoon was supposed to be warm. The air was still slightly chilly, probably around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. (Yes, I live in Los Angeles and 60 degrees is chilly!) While I was waiting, I was staring off into the large community gardens that are near the bus stop. And then the realization came to me that this was oddly similar to Germany.

Last year my mom and I went to Germany to visit relatives and friends. Our relatives and friends lived in different cities, and we used Germany's train system to get around to each of the places we stayed at. One of the things we constantly saw from the trains but I never got a good picture of was community gardens that seemed to be just outside the large cities we passed through. They were massive and the one thing that always stood out to me as the trains zoomed past was the little almost house-looking sheds every hundred or so feet. Since we didn't actually get to visit one of these community gardens, I can only assume that tools were stored in these. But I digress; the sheds were the only difference to me between the gardens in Germany and the ones I was staring at in valley. And by focusing on this, the wait for the bus seemed so much shorter than usual.

Now, on the way home, I had a completely different experience. I decided that I wanted to sit down on the bench around the corner from the stop because the bench was in the sun and I was freezing from the previous bus ride. I was playing Sudoku on my Kindle, glancing up every few minutes to see which buses passing by. I thought the bus usually came around twenty past five. When I glanced up a few minutes earlier, I saw the bus racing down the street. I knew that if I wasn't standing at the stop, the bus wouldn't necessarily stop. But I thought I had just a few more minutes before the bus came. But with missing the bus, it meant that I had imposed an hour half wait on me for wanting to sit in the sun and play Sudoku. Kind of stupid.

During wait and the second bus ride home, I was texting different friends trying to arrange a ride to my small group for church. After one or two had turned me down, I then remembered that my roommate had told me she would be free. I gave her call, but she told me she was at work. I was able to find a ride, but when I got home, I found out that my roommate's mom had flown in to surprise my roommate for her birthday. Since she is like a second mom to me, I was overjoyed to see her. I was really sorry I missed the first bus and spent just ten short minutes with her before running off to small group.

Ironically (or just nailing the lesson home for me), the discussion at small group this week was focused on perseverance. We also discussed how both patience (holding out for the good) and endurance (holding onto the good) flow from perseverance.  I think I definitely learned a lesson this week!  And I just hope I can hold onto this lesson and ensure not to make the same mistake again anytime soon!