Patience is a Superpower
Rather listen to this blog? Listen to “Patience is a Superpower.”
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4
If you’ve been to even one wedding in your lifetime, you are definitely familiar with this verse. It’s a part of what’s called “the love chapter”: A set of verses that details how people – not just newlyweds – should treat one another. It goes on to say love “…does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5)
Man, that’s a tall order. There are a lot of difficult tasks listed in those verses aren’t there? If you have a significant other of any sort, you definitely break the “keeps no record of wrongs” rule – don’t even try to deny it. “Oh yea? Well, what about that one time where you (insert mildly irritating grievance here)?” Arguably, however, I think the portion most people struggle with is…drumroll please…patience.
I don’t care how much you love a person, be it a friend, spouse, or family member – most people snap pretty quickly. Now, I’ve been told I have patience on an almost supernatural level. It takes A LOT to break me down. This means I can tolerate more than the average person, and I’m sure there are some times when I should get more upset than I do, and perhaps patience can get you stepped on sometimes. But that’s a blog entry for another time.
I’m going to share a story with you. I was coming home from spending time with my boyfriend one day when I got a call from my mom asking if I could stop at the 99 Cent Store to pick up some water and a couple of packs of aluminum foil. I figured sure, something like that would only take about ten minutes; I was terribly wrong. I grabbed what I needed, and proceeded to the checkout line. Now, there were only two out of six cash registers open. One had a woman with a pretty full cart, while the other also had a woman with only a few items. I selected the seemingly shorter route and soon discovered I had chosen the wrong adventure.
This woman was about to check out, when she realized the store would not take her expired coupon. She proceeded to refuse to leave. Five minutes went by, and an employee finally opened another register and called me over. I began to lay my items on the counter, and I noticed this employee was having difficulty with the register. He asked for a computer reset over the loud speaker. Two minutes went by. Which turned into five. And then ten.
“Lexi, this isn’t worth it. Why didn’t you just leave?” you ask. The answer is: I don’t know. Perhaps it was because I already invested so much time in waiting it would anger me more to know it was all for naught. As I waited and waited, I kept asking myself, “why are you getting mad? It’s not like you had anything else to do today anyway.”
I was now a good 20 minutes into waiting to be rung up, when the young man with the broken computer was assigned to a different one. I walked over to the next register (third time’s the charm!) and heaved a sigh. What else could go wrong? Was a car going to come plowing through the front door and into the register this time?
“Can I pay for your groceries?”
I thought I heard him incorrectly, so I said, “Sorry?”
“Can I pay for your groceries? I feel so bad…you’ve been waiting here so patiently this entire time.”
This employee, who probably doesn’t make all that much more than minimum wage, was offering to put up the money for my items. It was unbelievable to me. Just because I behaved and didn’t throw a hissy fit, he wanted to reward me?
“Oh…gee, thanks, but that’s not necessary. I don’t have any reason to be in a hurry.”
The look on his face when I said this was almost heartbreaking, in a way. I can’t even imagine the trauma he’s faced from cheap housewives who ask for discounts on items at a 99 Cent Store and then proceed to act gobsmacked and raise hell when the answer is “no.”
“Wow, thank you for being so patient and kind. Have a great day.”
Think about this for just a moment: You have the power to change the world with something as basic as being decent. You may not have money, fame, or looks, but you have the capacity to be kind. You don’t need to be in love with somebody to show them love. Patience may not be your forte, but like a muscle, your capacity for it will strengthen the more you practice it.
