I wish I could say I learned patience in a quiet place…
in stillness, in prayer, in calm reflection.
But no.
On a long-anticipated Florida vacation with my adorable husband, patience found me in airport terminals while waiting during long travel delays. Patience found me in the air as a restless and overwhelmed toddler screamed loudly two rows in front of me on both flights.
Recently, patience found me when I walked straight into a glass wall, nearly breaking my nose, leaving behind two black eyes and a W.C. Fields schnoz.
And then it returned when I discovered my wedding band was missing…
that quiet panic rising in my chest like a tide I couldn’t control.
And then there was the unseasonably cold, windy weather.
Cold winds whipping through “warm” Florida air,
as if to remind me that even familiar places sometimes refuse to behave as promised.
The sun continued to shine anyway… and somehow, I felt just fine, layered under two sweaters, a long-sleeve shirt, socks, Nike trainers, and my cool Detroit baseball cap.
Adversity tightens the jaw
Stiffens our shoulders
It demands life behave, as if hardship were a misprint in the script…something that should correct itself the moment we protest loudly enough.
And we exhale…
Patience understands that crying babies are not plotting disruption.
That glass walls are sometimes invisible.
That weather doesn’t consult our preferences.
That even a slender and beautiful diamond eternity band given with endless love during a romantic 2019 engagement surprise can slip quietly from your cold fingers.
Patience says: This too. This delay. This bruise. This wind. This moment shall pass.
Acceptance doesn’t deny disappointment.
It doesn’t pretend that pain or inconvenience are pleasant.
But it refuses to let frustration or anger or self-pity be the loudest voice in the room.
Patience isn’t passive waiting.
It’s strength under duress.
It’s grace overcoming irritation.
And it’s faith that this moment, imperfect and unplanned, has things to teach us.
And still in the presence of dear friends, comfortable lodging, perfectly divine meals with laughter and stories, multiple trips to museums and galleries filled with magnificent art, and sparkling sandy beaches under blue skies… and all those exotic flowers and banyan trees… We breathe; we steady ourselves….
And we continue to live…
Patience isn’t the absence of trouble.
It’s the quiet decision to move through any unpleasant parts gently to savor the beauty around us.
Because we know not everyone gets to make their own decisions with such luxury and freedom. We return to our everyday lives and must never take for granted what we have as we share our stories and photos with family and friends, and with the residents who always provide just the right amount of sympathy and advice to bring me back to earth…
Aging gives us perspective.
It rearranges the hierarchy of frustration.
It teaches us that most things are not emergencies.
That bruises fade.
That lost rings, traffic and delayed flights are not tragedies, but texture.
And we can be grateful to continue the process with patience.
May the One who sets the winds in motion
and lets the great golden orb shine through the cold air
place within us a patient spirit.
May we remember that delays are part of travel,
that bruises fade,
that what slips from our fingers
doesn’t always slip from our lives
without leaving something behind.
May we walk gently through inconvenience
jaws unclenched, shoulders lowered
strong in faith, steady in gratitude…
Aware that even the moments we would never have planned
are somehow stitched into the journey.
And may this Shabbat gather all our scattered moments…
the beautiful and the bruised… and return them to us in peace.
Shabbat Shalom