NEVER pray for patience!

A couple weeks ago I realized that I have to be the least patient person on the face of the earth. I am a little embarassed to admit how I came about the this not so shocking revelation, but let's just say it involves a sick kid. For whatever reason illnesses in the family don't turn me into this nurturing person that I thought all women naturally were. Taking care of people "just because" is not a strength of mine; illnesses seem to only weaken my lack of patience. This is NOT a good place to be as a mom. LOL! So brilliant me decided to pray for patience. BUT, I made it very clear to God that I didn't want this patience growth spurt to come in the form of trials. Surely he understood, right? It isn't that I don't trust God, I just don't like trials. God has to be able to sympathize with that. I mean, he knows trials. He is the one who sent his only son to the cross. Wow. What a trial that must have been :) But alas, God didn't listen to my plea. In fact, he flat out ignored it. So what has happened to teach me patience? A couple things. One, Scott has terrible kidney stones. We have been in and out of the ER for a month now. This will inevitably mean we will have medical bills that we can't pay. Secondly, Jordan got sick. So that is two sick people in a month. After she got sick she became ornery. She has always been a bit independent, but it is as if she was suddenly awakened to the idea that she wants to get her way. She joyfully disobeys. She does it with a smile on her face and a huge toddler laugh. It is utterly draining to deal with the arrogance of disobedience. Patient I am not. As I type this out I have to laugh a little. God answered my prayer for increased patience. He just didn't do it the way I wanted it done. Seriously. How did I think I would gain patience apart from trials? Yes, I am that prideful. I am the one who tries to tell God how I can best learn to be more like Him. Luckily God is infinitely patient. He loves to take care of me when I am sick. He finds much joy in watching me find my way back to Him on a daily basis. I could learn from Him, don't you think?