Test of Patience

Yesterday afternoon, Maggie and I both had dentist appointments. My parents were coming over to keep Max while we went.

The afternoon got a little hectic when the power went off as I was fixing lunch. I soon found out that over half of our town was also out including the dentist office. This could cause a few problems in my afternoon schedule. The dentist office soon called me on my cell phone (which they had to use their cell phones to call from....how did we ever manage before that?) to say that they would have to reschedule us at a later time. Okay fine, no big deal.

It wasn't 10 minutes later and the power came back on (it was off for about 1 1/2 hours total) and I got a call back from the dentist office to see if we could still come in, only just about an hour later than our original appointment time. Sure, my parents were here hangin' out....we would be there!

I should have know right then. It wasn't going to go as well as it did on Maggie first trip to the dentist. Remember how well she did.

My girl doesn't go-with-the-flow very well. Sadly, I think she gets that from me. We like to have a plan and stick to it. When the plan changes, it gets us all out of whack.

Anyway, we get to our appointment and she started to cry. She didn't want to go first. "Oh, that's fine honey, Mommy will go first and you can watch, so you can remember exactly what happens at the dentist."

Then her turn came. She started screaming and then kicking. She totally refused to even get on my lap. I was so frustrated. I was angry. I was embarrassed. I wasn't patient.

I always pray for patience. I pray for help staying calm in these type of situations. I pray that I do and say the right things, so I don't screw this kid up even more than I already have. I did not pray at that very moment. And I should have!

I was still upset about the entire situation last night, more about my behavior than hers. She's only 5! I forget that. My reaction to her behavior made me realize that I wasn't acting my age. I'm 30 years her senior and I need to act like it.

In praying about it more last night I've come to this conclusion. I will continue to pray for patience and God will continue to give me difficult situations to try and use what I am learning. Maybe someday, I'll get it.