In whose time???

If only i could be a fly on the wall of space and look at the earth more wholly. i would love to see how pilgrims around the world cope with the social and interpersonal issues that plague us all.
It has been my upbringing that when you run into a social wall, you pack your bags and walk the other way. That is to say that when you have a disagreement with someone (in the church) and it can not be easily resolved, you, at least on the surface, agree to disagree and go your separate ways. In "secular" life you just stop being friends, acquaintances, or whatever. Is it done this way all around the world, or just in western culture?
As i struggle through my own shortcomings and misunderstanding of the ways, convictions and shortcomings of others, it is repeatedly impressed upon me that problems are seldom solved quickly. Further if you turn tail and run, often you miss the bigger lesson that God is trying to get across. That lesson is often long reached and requires a great amount of real sacrifice.
Something about iron sharpening iron. Metal wears the metal down, chips off microscopic flakes like scabs off of a wound making the surface new and sharp. This can't be comfortable - think of the last time you had a scab yanked off a newer wound.
Where sharpening a knife takes mere minutes consider this tidbit of wisdom that a good friend passed onto me about time:
"Five minutes seems like nothing to the person eating an ice cream cone, but that same five minutes seems an eternity to the person walking across broken glass."
Be patient - life isn't McDonald. God will work things out in his time, and in retrospect it will all make sense.