Patience. It's something that we're always told to have, but many of us can barely keep ahold of. I remember how impatient I was when I moved to Atlanta. I thought that since I had a Masters degree behind me, and plenty of experience, finding the job that I wanted would be easy. Unfortunately though, things were far from easy for me.
I went in for job interview after job interview, only to be turned down for every single one.
And no, I'm not kidding. One interview I recall going on was for a writing position at a company that seemed to be a good fit for me. Between parking and putting a little bit of gas in my car, I spent the last $12 I had to my name in order to get to this interview. When I got there and after they told me how great I would be for the job — which required 20 hours a week in office — I found out that they were really looking for an intern and that their job posting was misleading. I smiled, told them that my schedule couldn't allot for the number of hours required, and bawled my eyes out as soon as I got on the elevator to head to my car. And for a string of almost three years, I went through very similar experiences with jobs in my field.
In 2016 though, I got my big break.
In February 2016, a good friend of mine got a spot in a New York Fashion Week show. She asked me if I would be willing to fly out with her to film the show (I had just been gifted with a camera the summer before) and she would pay me. I had the entire week off from work, had never been to New York, and had been offered a place to stay from another good friend. So, of course, I obliged. While I was already excited just about going to New York, I started thinking how cool it would be to connect with editors at any of the big publications that were based in New York. I literally reached out to everyone and not surprisingly, almost nobody responded back.
A year prior, however, I connected with an editor from ESSENCE and though she didn't accept my pitches then, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try again. So, I sent another message and left it where it was. Honestly, I kind of gave up hope and expected to not get a response from her either. A few days into my trip, however, she responded and told me to give her a call on her cell so that we can set up a meeting.
I was so excited! I couldn't believe that I was finally getting the chance to (potentially) work with one of my favorite publications! We set up the meeting for the Wednesday before I was scheduled to leave. It was at 5:30 p.m. and I had to prepare myself to take the subway alone.
When the day arrived for the meeting, everything that could have gone wrong, did.
I had an anxiety attack before the meeting, the subway stopped working, and I ended up being 15 minutes late. I was devastated. Naturally, I thought that there was no way she would still want to meet with me. She did, however, and the meeting went fantastic. I pretty much got the job right on the spot! The crazy thing was, it wasn't for what I thought it was going to be for. When I pitched her the year prior, it was to write about entertainment. When I met with her though, she told me they were looking for food and travel pieces and since I previously worked in food, beverage, and hospitality PR, it would be a great fit for me. Me even getting that PR job in 2012 (as short lived as it was) is another story, too, but looking back, it prepared me for that exact moment.
It wasn't until right then that I realized how important exercising patience is. Though I wanted what I wanted in 2013, had God given it to me then, I wouldn't have been ready. And, to be quite transparent, I wouldn't have known how to handle it. Even if God had opened the door with ESSENCE for me in 2015, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to expand past what I thought I wanted to write about nor would I have been as happy as I am now with what I'm doing.
That's just one instance, but there are many in my life as I'm sure there are in yours as well where patience proves to be important. Although the journey may be difficult to obtaining what you want and — in most cases — can take much longer than you would like, God encourages us to have patience.
Not only did patience show me how much perseverance I truly have, it helped me place my entire faith in God and His timing.
I'm not going to sit here and sell you some story about how easy finding patience in my darkest hours was or even how I don't struggle with being patient at times now. But, what I will tell you is that patience, even when it doesn't feel like it's worth it, can lead you to having something so much more amazing than you could have even imagined. Patience helped me increase my love for God because I know that no matter what happens, He's always going to look out for my best interest. He's proven that time and time again. And, what He does for me, He can and will do for you, too.
So, if you're ever in a space where frustration starts to outweigh your patience, know that it's extremely normal. What you do next, however, is the important part. You can either become impatient and bitter and miss out on or delay God's best or you can wait in faith and know that God's timing is always the best timing.
My ask: I hope that this week you are able to discover a part of your life where you've been impatient. What has impatience kept you from? Have you asked God to help you through that feeling? Do you ever go to God in prayer to ask Him what you should do next? Even more, have you thought about how waiting can help you improve yourself? Whether it's being patient for love or being patient for that big break in your career, be confident in knowing that God has not forgotten about you.
"Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times." — Romans 12:12
Until next week!
With Creative (and Patient) Thoughts,
-Kp