Praying for patience

This morning's round of tests were stressful, and after an hour, my patience was stretched thinner than one of Stratoz's sheets of strudel.  So when the doctor's office was clearly running behinder and behinder, but still holding out the fiction that nothing was amiss I started praying for patience.

Patient Spiritual Director once wryly pointed out that if you pray for patience you are often presented with opportunities to practice.  Today suggested he's right.  My prayers were answered in that there were many, many opportunities to practice patience.  I did not make the best of each of them, I'm afraid to admit.

By 4:30, I was apologizing to the student staffing the help desk for my grumpiness about things far beyond her control (or I suppose mine).  At 4:38 I was once again...apologizing to the same student for my lack of patience.  (*face palm*)

I'm obviously still working on the patience front, but am having no trouble with the gratitude.  Test results were excellent.  It was a good day.

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After I wrote this, I read Linde Ricke's most excellent guest post at People for Others:  Avoiding the Near Occasion of Sin.  I needed this line today: "I need to focus especially on the simple phrase 'with the help of Thy grace.' Only through the Holy Spirit can I possibly make any headway in avoiding the certain near occasion of sin."