Such a blessing...

Until October 4, 2008 I have never owned a camera other than disposables. You can only imagine then, since I am a photographer, that acquiring a camera has been one of the most patience-seeking experiences in my life. It has involved getting rid of jealous tendencies, smiling when I thought I couldn't, and waiting--lots of waiting. 

As a child I learned I could not always get what I wanted and when I wanted it. Some things take time and others take money. If you don't have the money, you have to be patient and work for it. I think children these days don't learn that lesson enough, they grew up in a microwave or dsl society where people would rather sacrifice quality for speed. I am thankful that I learned to be patient early on.

These past years have been a test to see if I truly understood patience.

At the beginning of this school year, I decided I would try to get a credit card to start building my credit and to buy the amazing camera I had been waiting for. This camera costs $799...it is the brand new Canon Digital Rebel Xsi with 12.2 mp. I went to my bank and applied for a credit card. I recieved it in the mail and found out it had a $700 limit. That wouldn't cover the camera. So I decided to also get a Discover card. I applied...they emailed me a week later saying I had one more step to finalize my application. I called and they told me I needed to verify my address. I then called my mom to request her to fax a bill with my name on it to Discover. She faxed my medical bill (from the time I went to the hospital when I had pneumonia) on that same day. They sent a fax to my mom saying they received her fax. A week later, I hadn't heard anything from Discover so I called them to see what was holding it up. Discover then told me that a medical bill could not verify my address. The woman at Discover went ahead and approved my application anyway. I was to receive my card within a week. Another week passed by and there had been nothing in the mail from them. I called again. Apparently they had the wrong city and zip code on my account, which made no sense because I had applied online and I always check three times before I send something off. They also asked to verify my address 2 weeks earlier and they had a fax with my address on it. Also when the woman approved my application we went over my address again. They still had it wrong. They told me I had to wait another week.

I was so frustrated with Discover that I almost told them to forget about my card. I didn't want it anymore. But I needed it if I wanted to get my camera. I didn't have money to buy my camera right away, so I guess getting a credit card or two was the easy, less patient way out. Three weeks to a month had passed since I originally applied for my card and every day was harder than the one before. I planned how and when I would get my camera in my head...I was so excited. A week after each step I would call my mom many times a day to see if the mail had arrived...and every week I was disappointed.

September 24th arrived, it had been a full month and I was still eagerly waiting for my credit card. Two days more and I would be at the Cleveland County Fair. I wanted my camera so badly to take amazing pictures at the fair. If my mom didn't receive the card in the mail that night, I wouldn't be able to get my camera before the fair. I was looking forward to taking those pictures for an entire year. Memories would be lost forever never to be captured if I didn't have that camera. My mom texted me...No card was in the mail that night. 

I was so furious. I called Discover again, trying to hold my frustration in. The woman on the other line told me they had the wrong address...STILL. After four times of verifying and calls and waiting...they STILL had it wrong. I asked the woman if I could have my card number so that I could use it online to buy my camera and she told me three times "We can not give numbers over the phone." No matter how many times I told her they messed my information up for over a month, I could not know my numbers, I could not know how much money would be on the card. I had to wait.....

I cried my eyes out that night. I had been so let down...so angry and so sad at the same time that I broke down...cried for hours upon hours. My mom told me there had to be a reason that I had to wait..that I had to stay patient. I didn't do any homework that night, I wouldn't have been able to see the paper if it were two inches from my face, my eyes were swollen shut with agony and tears. It rained that weekend, and the fair was closed...

I waited again. I tried not to get excited or expect anything. I waited another 9 days. Finally, my mom received my credit card in the mail. It was a Thursday and I was worried I wouldn't get the mail until Monday and then I wouldn't have time to drive an hour to Hickory to get my camera. Saturday rolled around....and my card was sitting in my mailbox. I think I jumped and danced around my dorm room for at least an hour. Then...I found out that my camera was on sale...there was a 2 day sale at Best Buy and my camera was a part of it!! $749 instead of $799!!!  

God knew there would be sale...that it would rain at the fair and I would have been upset anyway...that I needed to wait.

This camera is a blessing from God alone. My card came a month or more later on my time but that was God's time. All I can say is that I learned to trust God...He knows what He is doing...perhaps if you wait...He will bless you.