Monday, December 12, 2011

Patience...is most definitely a virtue.

I consider myself many things. Friendly. Loyal. Caring. Classy. But my patience? Not one of my better qualities. I've always been one of those people that, once they think or know something is going to happen, they want it to happen now. Christmas, spring break, an Amazon order that's been "in transit" for a week...whatever the case, I just want it to happen. This is one of the things that makes "Letting God" really difficult.  God has his own timing for everything, and it almost never lines up with our idea of the time line.  In fact, we are often so tired of waiting for God's answer that we are likely to make rash decisions that lead to taking the wrong path or to just giving up entirely.  We plop down in the middle of the road and say, "I'm not doing anything until You tell me where we're going."  Of course, what we don't realize is that by saying this, we are saying that we don't trust God.  We think that we know better than the Creator of the universe as to what we should do with our lives.  Of course, once we hear it put that way, we should immediately realize how silly that seems, and how God must sometimes see us as a petulant child.  Fortunately for us, He still loves us, and for reasons only He knows, He patiently waits until we realize how childish we are being and finally stand up to start walking again.

Life's journey is not easy.  We pass many exit ramps, and we frequently ask, "Are we there yet?"  We have to remember, though, that God is guiding us and will get us to our exit ramp on time.

I say all this because I have been feeling like the petulant child lately.  I'm impatient for God to show me what is going to happen...which exit ramp to take.  I want to stop in the middle of the road and say, "Tell me where we're going, or I'm not moving." Or even worse: "Well if you're not gonna tell me, I'm just gonna take the next exit."  Prayers for patience over the next few weeks would be much appreciated.  I know there's a plan for me.  I just need to wait for God to tell me the next turn.