When the pressure’s on

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It doesn’t seem a moment ago that my house was full of highlighters. Highlighters, flashcards, and a low-level hum of panic.

My daughter Amaani was doing her GCSEs, and the pressure was very real. She’d been working so hard — revising, testing herself, trying to stay calm. Then the stress caught up with her.

Amaani broke out in a full-body rash. Spots across her face, her arms, her legs. Even the cat looked concerned.

We went to a friend’s house for a breather — just to get away from the revision zone. One of their guests was a doctor, and with my blessing, my daughter lay down in a quiet corner while they checked her for all sorts of weird and wonderful skin conditions. We left none the wiser.

I went on the phone to the GP, trying to get a last-minute phone appointment. The only time i could get was as we were rushing out the door to her next exam. I felt helpless seeing her in such discomfort. I found myself wishing I could have some answers, wishing I could take the pressure off her shoulders and onto mine, getting impatient.

That’s when I remembered something my granny used to say when I was a child: “That person’s got the patience of Job.”  I always wondered who Job was. [pause]

Much later I learned he was a prophet mentioned in both the Bible and in the Qur’an, the book Muslims turn to for guidance. Job was a man who faced intense hardship — illness, loss, pain. There’s a line from the Qur’an that captures his moment of prayer as he turned to God with quiet trust.  Job says:  “Adversity has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.” No drama. No demand. Just a statement of faith.  [pause

And it hit me — this is what patience under pressure really looks like. Not pretending everything’s fine. Not having everything sorted. Just recognising  what’s hard… and trusting you’re not alone.

So I’m trying to do things differently now. To stop hovering. To stop wishing things were different.

And to trust that God is with my daughter and with me, even when it’s all a bit chaotic… and rather spotty!  And to remember that patience, like exam revision, is something to be worked on — one highlight at a time.

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