The Art of Patience

So, when I said I was going to learn the art of patience, I never dreamed it would be in this way of learning.
I was thinking, "okay, there's nothing special coming up in the next couple of days, so I'll most likely lost patience with some customers at work."
I was kinda off.
On thursday afternoon, a beautiful day, I was on my way to Barnes 'N' Noble Bookstore to read, and have some coffee, and kill time before work. But it took me a little longer to get there.
I ended up being stupid and looking away from the car in front of me at the exact wrong time. She stopped and I failed to see it happen. So what else happens, but I rear-ended her. No one was hurt, and the airbags didn't even go off (Thank you, Jesus). But I broke her tail light and seriously dented the back corner of her car.
The car I was driving wasn't damaged at all, except for the need of a new license plate.
The thing about this accident that really got to me was the money. (It's always about the money). I'm standing there, Chris is talking to this woman, and the only thing I can think is that all the money I've been saving up for college is now going to this womans car. Working over the summer, overtime weeks, and dealing with stupid customers was all for her car. I couldn't stop crying, with the mixture of that and feeling shaken up because, well, I mean, I hit someone's car. That will always shake you up, right?
Anyways, so I just kept praying and asking, "Why, God? Why me, and why now, and why in this car, and why all my money?"
So the woman had decided she wouldn't call the cops, and we would pay her out of pocket, and that would be that. We both went on our merry ways, her to her grandchildren, and me to my books.
Lo and behold, a couple hours later, I get a call from the cops. Then I get a ticket for 120$.
As you can imagine, this makes my day WAY better, and I start crying again.
So, I'm getting a little impatient with everyone by this time.
The hardest thing to learn was to still do my job. In order to be a good waitress, and actually make good tips, the customer can't really know you're having the worst day of your life - that you just got into a car accident and lost all your money potentially and their tip is going to be the best part of your day. So patience was learned in one way.
Patience was learned in waiting to find out how much the car was going to cost. (between 100 and 1500$ worth of damage).
Patience was not being a brat to people when they didn't do anything to me, and I was just in a bad mood.
Patience to learn what was going to happen, and what the result was going to be.
Patience with God, trusting that He protects me. Always.

Ending result - I pay the ticket, and that's it. There's no deductible on the insurance, and they will cover the cost of her car. I don't have to give her any money, and all the money in my account is going to stay there.
God always protects us, and I'm sad that it took an accident for me to see that He's always here.
And so, again, life is an art. We must paint every day a little different. The past few days have sucked, but it's what makes life, well, life.
And trust me, the ending result of the painting of life will be beautiful.
And so, tomorrow is a new day. (thank God.) With every new day, there is something new to be learned.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of peace.