Patience. You'll find out why.
My patience was put to the test when I had to wait for the bus for two hours. I was already late for work, but I wasn't bothered for some reason. Perhaps because I had already accepted the fact that I would be late. In normal circumstances, I would have ranted about how inconsiderate bus companies were or found someone to blame, but I was taken aback by how calm I was at the time.
When the bus arrived, there were no seats left, so I was forced to stand until God knows where. At the time, I thought that perhaps that day was unlucky for me. However, this was changed thirty minutes later when two passengers got off and the seats were finally vacated. I sat there with this blonde girl in her late 30s or 40s.
We exchanged shy smiles, which led to an interesting conversation. She initially asked if I was going to work, to which I replied with a nod. Our small talk became more interesting when we discovered that we had a mutual friend.
I am not the friendly-at-first-meet type of person, but something in her changed that. As our conversation progressed, she revealed that she is of a different religion than mine. She then began to tell me about their beliefs and teachings, and I wondered, "Is she trying to recruit me?"
Despite my reservations, I continued to listen to her out of respect. She then described how she and her partner went from nothing to having a successful business of their own.
"Your faith is tested when you are torn into a situation where you have to sacrifice something big."
I recall her saying this when they were faced with the decision to leave the country for a better job opportunity or stay to serve their god. They had nothing at the time, and the offer was very appealing, but they were afraid of making the wrong choice.
She then questioned, "What do you do when you are indecisive?"
I explained that I read my Bible and pray to God for guidance. She smiled and said that they had done exactly the same thing.
To be honest, I was surprised to learn that, despite our differing religions, we share a common bond: our faith.
Our religion and religious beliefs caused a schism in the norm. Others even go too far in criticizing certain religions, which is becoming increasingly toxic these days. But that small talk I had with that woman proved one thing to me: our faith has the power to tear down the walls that our religions have built between us.
There is no perfect religion.
That is a proven fact. No matter how many times we argue about which religion is better and which is false, we can all agree that none of the religions we have followed are perfect. However, our faith can be.
If our faith is only genuine and strong, we can call it perfect. When that woman offered a prayer for my safety, good health, and life, I realized that faith knows no bounds.