Sometimes I think God puts certain people in our lives for a very good reason. The older I get, the more I believe that, and on Saturday something happened that really “drove” that point home for me.
But let me start by saying that throughout most of my life, patience has not been one of my better traits. Seems like I’ve always been in a hurry, starting with being born at 8 months, and it’s been really hard for me to slow down ever since. That is, until about 10 years ago when I met an elderly Chinese woman, named Pao Chi Chen, who taught me that patience is not only a virtue, it can also help you lead a longer, happier life.
So back to what happened Saturday. I had a huge contract to inspect all of the Light Poles throughout The Irvine Spectrum Center. There are hundreds of Light Poles at that iconic Shopping Center, so it was definitely a challenging project. To make it even harder, I needed to complete it within one week. So I worked hard all week hoping to complete the project on Saturday, but I still had two of the hardest parking lots left to do. It was a busy Saturday, the parking lots were overflowing with cars, and people were fighting over parking spaces. Plus, I nearly got ran over several times as I maneuvered my equipment between cars and along driveways. I was tired, frustrated, and getting upset that people were carelessly driving so close to me. I was getting angry and definitely losing my patience. I hate to admit it, but I was actually cussing people out under my breath.
Then it happened! As I completed a pole and turned around to squeeze out from in front of a car, there she was. A tiny, elderly Chinese woman staring at me. I could see she was waiting for me to move so that she could get in her car, and although I was tired and frustrated, I immediately apologized for being in her way. But she didn’t appear upset at all, In fact she was smiling and said, “That’s okay, I see you working, so better for me to wait.” Her clothing, her face, her smile instantly brought back memories of my friend Pao Chi Chen and her lessons about patience and compassion. As the lady got into her car, she smiled one more time and nodded her head at me and I swear I saw a wink in her eye! The only response I could think of was to bow and say “Syeh, Syeh, Nee.” (Mandarin Chinese for thank you!)
And that got me thinking… We learn lessons in life that are extremely valuable, but over time it’s easy to forget and fall back into bad habits. Maybe God put Pao Chi Chen in my life to teach me about patience… and maybe yesterday was just God’s way of reminding me.
Interesting side bar – Pao Chi Chen was a
very patient woman, which helped her to live to be 95 years old, despite me
running her over with my truck and nearly killing her when she was 88. Patience
should be a way of life for all of us!
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