It is challenging to be patient

I was on my way to work at the hospital one morning and, fifteen minutes into the drive, I found myself in the middle of a traffic jam on the expressway. Starting to get a little nervous, I remembered the Word of Life: “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Eph 4:32). The only thing that mattered was to continue loving —even in this jam. I managed to get onto a side road and continued on my way, but I still wasn’t sure I would be on time for work with all of the stop signs and school crossings along the way. Two blocks from work the gates at a railroad crossing began to come down. Two freight trains and a passenger train were coming. I remained patient. At work, I attended to the patients with the same love I had tried to live on my way to work. The husband of one of my patients expressed his gratitude for the special care his wife had received. I worked the whole day with a nurse with whom I hadn’t worked before, and she shared many things about her family and her work. When I left the hospital that day, I had a great joy and felt God had been with me every step of the way.
—M. C., Chicago