In the last two weeks my patience has been tested to the MAX. It started on a Tuesday when I woke up with the flu, and missed three days of school, over a weeks worth of work and my first day of classes at HCC. Because I am a senior this year, I'm allowed only 5 excused absences for my final semester in order to be exempt from my exams, so right off the bat, I missed 3 of 5. While I was sick, I was in a ton of pain and hated being cooped up at home while so many other things we're happening back at school and work, and on top of that I was about two weeks away from Strawberry Queen, a local pageant I worked very hard and planned a lot for. The flu however was not apart of that plan and made things a lot harder than they needed to be.

I was hitting the gym extremely hard trying to tone and build muscle so I would feel good on stage, and once I got sick I couldn't work out for two weeks leading up to the pageant, and lost not only all my progress but 6 pounds that I needed to keep my heavily beaded pageant dress from slipping RIGHT off of me. I had last minute things I needed to buy and do but going out wasn't an option. On top of all of this, I seemed to be going through a cycle of bad luck in all other departments of life. In a matter of 2 weeks I got two flat tires, lost my debit card, and backed into my dad's truck in my MOTHER'S car.

While it probably seems that I'm complaining and seeking sympathy, that's really not my goal. The point of sharing these details is because all of the things that had happened I knew there was a reason for it. God doesn't put us through things to make us suffer, but to show us something.

I felt that because I went through all of these challenges, it meant something good was coming and that that something good would be the results I was hoping for with the pageant. I made top 10 in the pageant, and although they weren't the exact results I was hoping for, I know that means God has something else for me right now, and I will wait patiently to find out what that is.

While some things can really suck in the moment, and it feels like EVERY little thing is going wrong, there is a reason for the things we endure and a lesson to learn. God continually shows this to us, and I thank him for the challenges I face because they almost always open new doors, and I'm happy to wait on my new door to open.