The Wait Game 😔

November 12, 2021

Nothing grinds my gears more than having to WAIT (for any reason) ! My friends would laugh at that because I am usually always late, having them wait for me. I promise I have changed though 🙃, thanks to Japan where punctuality is crucial and lateness is severely frowned upon!

I 'm serious, people lose their jobs and are blacklisted because of lateness. Yeah.. It's that serious!

Anywho, I am here to ramble about another kind of waiting.. The ultimate "Wait Game". Much like how long you guys had to wait for another blog from me 👀.

The Meat of the Matter

As mentioned above, I'm not a big fan of waiting.. This does not come naturally to me. But in recent times, I have had to come to the realization that I have noooo choice but to wait for the right timing for certain things; ultimately God's timing. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. It was not without its many failures or challenges. I wish it was so much easier to grasp this concept minus the hard lessons, but honestly those hurdles make the experience so much more worthwhile and the lessons are for life!

I had shared my experience of having to wait to move into my own apartment, in my previous blog. That, in itself, was very humbling but very worth it. Looking back.. I can now affirm that if I hadn't been patient, I wouldn't have gotten the perfect/convenient apartment that I now have.
Another experience that immediately comes to mind is related to my interest in finding a second job. So, it is customary for foreigners living in Japan to find part time/full time jobs using an online platform called "Gaijinpot" -- (gaijin 外人= foreigner). I recall I had been trying for months to score a part time job, to no avail. I even aimed for jobs in different fields, because why not lol who knows what will happen; doesn't hurt to try , right? The point is, I was really not ready to have a part time job since I had just moved and needed some time to adjust to my new environment (apartment, schools, people). I, however, was adamant in my pursuit of a job and was disappointed each time I got no reply. One day, a few months later, I felt led to check the location on my profile to ensure everything was good on my end. To my surprise, the address on my profile was never changed to reflect my new location!! I'm now wondering how crazy these people thought I was, to be applying for a job on the opposite side of the country (based on the old address) 😖. Anyway, I immediately changed my address and tried the application process again. Within a few minutes, I had gotten two interview appointments! One of which I have chosen to advance with... Look at timing! I was settled in my new environment and was ready to have this part time job added to my plate! Worth the wait..
This not so favourable example just shows up my impatience and anger issues lol. I remember one weekend I was on my way to my part time job -- I think I was still fairly new to the job -- but my commute usually consists of me walking to the bus stop, taking a bus to the station, taking a train from that station to the one closest to my work location and then walking to the exact location (whew). That morning, for some reason the bus was leaving as soon as I got to the stand and I was furiousssss! I starting beating the bus stop with my umbrella and shouting, "WHY?!" (I am not proud of this). I even screamed at God to give me an answer as to why He was causing this to happen to me now, of all times! I eventually gathered myself and waited a few more minutes for another bus. By the way, taking a later bus, would mean that I would miss my train to work as well 🙃. But alas, I eventually got to work in hissyfit, ready to apologize for my tardiness only to be greeted with;

"Oh wow, you're early.. You don't have the first two classes today!"

<😑> my anger/behaviour earlier that morning flashed before my eyes and the only thing I could've done was to smile.. I was embarassed! I immidiately apologized to God and thanked Him for humbling me. I was not very humble before..

These may seem like such trivial scenarios, but they've been such valuable lessons for me going forward. I still try to be in control of tings sometimes, but as usual I am reminded that it's not my job. You may find yourself in similarly humbling situations where you try to control things around you, without realizing how much you're trying to become the God of your life. God already exists and is more than capable of doing that job Himself, better than we could've ever done.

I came across this quote recently, and it was coincidentally fitting to this period of acceptance and growth mentioned above: