~by Susi Pittman

Have you ever been “blind-sided” by either an event or person?

How did you handle it?

Did you become angry or sad?

What did you do to resolve your feelings?

I think we can all relate.

The times that I have experienced this I found myself floundering in the brine of confusion, but, I have come to a great and wonderful knowledge!

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that PATIENCE, and that is PATIENCE UPON THE LORD is by far the answer to handling the negativity that comes from such. It is a virtue akin to fortitude and it disposes us to bear adversity and trials with serenity.

Jesus is our model in patience. Just consider His patience with the Apostles, the disciples, with the ignorant multitudes, the sick, the sinners and US.

We can see that when patience is exercised, there is no room for self-love, over-sensitivity, self-will and tendencies to selfishness. Self love seeks sympathy, over-sensitivity seeks a companion to be miserable with, self-will shuts the door on the Holy Spirit and selfish tendencies serve the wrong lord.

Patience makes us thoughtful of others even if they have been less than charitable.

Patience makes us overlook annoyances and thoughtless acts because we know that they too can find God’s work heavy.

What we feel, others feel and believe it or not it affects the surrounding environment. (Even our pets.)

No matter the difficulty, Jesus will guide us in our patience to move in a more positive direction providing us with peace of spirit.

Susi Pittman is founder of CatholicStewardsofCreation.com and Owner-President of Twin Oaks Publishing; she is author of Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!; an advocate for the Florida Catholic Conference; a member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Council of Women in Jacksonville, Florida; an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Augustine;a member of the Florida Publishers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, the National Association of Professional Women, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States and the National Audubon society.