We’ve all had to wait for something. We may have a dream or goal that isn’t happening as fast as we’d like. But how about waiting for forty years? Lack of patience and faith is why Moses heard a lot of complaining!
A big test of our faith in a dream or goal is our patience. When we look forward to something, we can’t wait for it to get here. We may have to save, labor, and plod ahead to reach a goal. Yet, our estimate of how long something takes can be way off.
As a boy, I learned there were infinite ways to annoy a girl. Many times, my discovery would be purely unintentional.
One afternoon, I was riding the bus home from school. There was a girl in front of me with golden curls. At the time, my sister was too young to have curls that big. For some reason, I was fascinated by them. My second-grade, male mind had no idea the time it to create those perfect curls. I found them fascinating. I was like a moth to a flame.
I found myself wanting to touch them as if I wanted to confirm they were real. I thought I could do so without her noticing. I was wrong! She turned around, glared at me, and scolded me for being so rude.
Part of me was crushed. I had no intention of pestering her. But the other part was satisfied with my scientific experiment. Yes, they were real. Those golden curls somehow defied gravity and spiraled into infinity, but they were real.
I like to think I live in a certain world. If I do A, B will naturally follow.
The truth is, we have far less control than we would like to believe. Life is uncertain. There are infinite ways our lives could go today.
There are infinite ways our day can go wrong today. However, there are also infinite ways our day can go right today.
Instead of attempting to control everything, I will do my best to live a life of faith, hope, and love today. It may not make things any more certain, but it can allow me to trust that things will turn out all right no matter what curveball may come my way today.
Page from my sketchbook. I drew this Jack-o’-lantern in 2001. At the time, our country was going through a lot of scary things and I was struggling through a lot. I was between jobs and my wife and I were just trying to figure out what would happen next.
All the stuff we were going through then seems so trivial then. I don’t know what you’re going through today, but know that everything changes. If you’re going through a rough spot, there is hope. The good old days are only good when we are way ahead of them. Hold on, child. Things are gonna get easier!