Learning to be Patient

I woke up yesterday in the foulest of sorts. That night I hadn't fallen to sleep until well after midnight so I was counting on sleeping in till at least seven but mom and Steve had other ideas. I grudgingly crawled out of bed after being hit with a barrage of licks only to be met with a list of jobs as soon as I reached the kitchen from mom. All I wanted was a cup of coffee before my crazy hectic day would begin. Is that too much to ask? Apparently it was. I was kept plenty busy from the time that I woke up, to when I walked out the door for school: late. At school I practically dozed off to sleep through the whole lecture. Not a good idea. By the time Medical Terminology came around at one o'clock I was a bear of the worst kind. I've always considered myself to be a patient person. I guess God disagrees with my view of my own temperance because by stepping into that classroom every Monday and Wednesday I am stepping directly into a zone of testing. The class stretches on for two long hours. By the time the first hour is behind us and we have yet to learn about the next chapter, I can feel my entire mind and body reacting in a most disagreeable way. My eyes are pulled to the clock by an invisible tug at random moments, the intervals between which become shorter and shorter. Upon seeing the most frustrating sight of a clock that seems stuck and hearing the teachers voice go on and on in a horrid monotone volume saying things that I've known since high school, my stomach turns into a knot that is almost unbearable to live with. Even my throat seems to close at the stress that I felt from that class. I'm not exaggerating either. I leave that class so stressed that I can hardly breath. The worst part is that no one can understand my pain because the reason I'm stressed in that class is because it is too easy. We spend two hours on things I already know!
Anyway, I had a short bit of time home before I had to rush off to vaulting. As we walked into the barn, my aunt, Karin hits us dead in the face with news that we only have a couple of practices with the Reinhards. So Karin is stressed, which is never good. I can't say much for the practice.
I had another very short time at home only to be whisked away to church. I am ashamed to say that I had no pleasure in going and no intention of listening. I was a dragon of fury at this point. Well, it was one of those sermons. The kind that you just know God had prepared just for you. Bill Schick gave it and at one point he looks at us in the front and said that us young kids can't understand this concept yet, but "learn to be thankful for the hard times". That struck a chord with me that would ring loudly for a long time afterward. I know that yesterday was a day to learn patience and gratitude. After the sermon and after realizing I had so much to be thankful for, my attitude changed. If you know Jessica and Janelle, you can ask them how goofy I was after church. What can I say, finding out that I was being tested for a whole day and then having God explain to me afterwards what it was all about leaves me in a state of utmost and highest joy!