I just spent the day subbing in the media center at the local elementary school. You remember the place; it used to be called the library. I rarely visited the school library when I was growing up, unless I was working on some type of research paper or project.
Finding a book was rather cumbersome. You first had to navigate the card catalog and then there was the ever intimidating, Dewey Decimal System. Sometimes you had to look up articles on something called microfilm. It was cutting edge stuff. Not to mention, you had to be quiet, something I was never really good at.
Boy, how times have changed. The media center I spent the day in had five student computers, plus one for checking books out, one for checking books in and one connected to a Smartboard. The card catalog is long gone and with a computer, the search for a book is instantaneous. The kids can search by author or subject and it will even tell them exactly where to find it. Done. No fuss. No muss.
This is a much better way, right? But, then I start to wonder, while no one misses the card catalog, didn’t using it teach us patience and perseverance? As a society, I think we’ve become like that bratty little rich girl, Veruca, from Willa Wonka. Her main line was, “I want it now!”
I often talk to the middle schoolers in our Sunday School Class about the vending machine attitude towards prayer. We want to say a prayer and have it answered now, thank-you very much. We want prayer to be like putting change into a vending machine and pushing the button, for instant results. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
The Bible gives us plenty examples of the fact that God’s timing is different than ours. Abraham was seventy-five years old when God promised him he would be the father to many. He was one hundred years old when Isaac was born. It took the Israelites forty years in the desert to make what should have been a fairly short trip to the Promised Land.
In the New Testament, Jesus tells his disciples that he must go up to heaven so that the Holy Spirit can arrive. They watch him ascend into heaven and walk back to town and lock themselves in a room, praying non-stop for seven days before the Holy Spirit comes roaring in with a big whoosh. Seven days may not sound like a long time, but have you ever prayed non-stop for seven days?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Waiting can not only be difficult, but excruciating at times, especially if we’re waiting on news from a loved one or for test results. But, waiting is a part of life and if we have faith, we can grow our patience and with faith and patience, the waiting isn’t nearly as hard. Patience is a lifelong quest for most of us, but the peace that comes from it is well worth it. How about you? How well do you wait? feel free to share.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂