Patience is a virtue, seek it if you can, always found in ...who? :)

Patience is an easy word to say, and easy attribute to afford to others, and an incredibly difficult to cultivate for oneself. At least for me. Throughout my life I have thought that I was patient, but then I would hit a trial or an affliction, and my "patience" would run out the back door. :) It seems to me that patience is like a step ladder. There are levels to it, and we all start at the bottom. Once you hit a trial, you go through different steps to overcome it, trying to figure it out ourselves is one way, very popular one for me. Another way would be to ask people for advice, I also like this one.:) Sometimes prayer is the first thing that comes to mind for people. We all have different ways of dealing with our problems, and through this process we learn a little bit of patience. Solutions don't usually happen all at once. :) Then once we have come through our trial and the victory flag is up, we rejoice and move on. My mistake here is that I tend to think, "I've done it! I've gained patience! I am a patient person!" However, I am incorrect. Patience is an on-going battle, and I find that I am always given more opportunities to gain more:) For instance, I am the oldest of four children, and I grew up with them and we had to learn how to get along, and I thought I knew how to be patient with people. Then, I went to college, and I met these people called roommates. ;) Throughout my two years of college, I was constantly developing, and being given opportunities to learn some patience.I have learned that  Heavenly Father knows me so well. Something else I have learned however, is that even though I am never all the way there, I am getting closer each time (well hopefully...) We are so lucky that Heavenly Father is so loving and patient. Our end goal is to become like him, and he teaches us how to do so little steps at a time. I am grateful for the wonderful opportunity I have to be on this Earth and learn and grow. I know someday I will be able to live with my Father in Heaven again, and hopefully, I will have gained some patience. :)