Thursday, July 24, 2014

Instant Gratification

Right before Kevin left for the United States, I began reading a Christian fiction book set in the late 19th century. A lot of the plot was centered on communication, by letters. It would talk about the long letters written by the characters and then waiting on pins and needles for the reply which would come weeks later.

As Kevin was boarding his flight Friday evening, I sent him a tender note using my phone, to wish him well. I was sitting in bed and then rolled over (that takes some doing being pregnant and all) and I dropped the phone off of the side of the bed. This minor 24” drop should be nothing to an iPhone in a shockproof case, but that proved to not be the case. My screen went out. My heart sank as I heard the little ding of reply from my hubby. I panicked! I went to the computer and searched ways to repair the phone to no avail. I looked for ways to retrieve my messages online, but it was no use.
Waiting two whole days for a reply from Kevin felt like an eternity to me! I am so used to instant everything, instant responses, instant information, instant messages! What can I say - my culture has trained me to live a life of “ease.” In America, if I don’t want to cook, I just pull in a drive-thru.  If I am feeling ill and don’t feel like making an appointment with my regular doctor, I can go to a pharmacy that now offers walk-in options with a physician’s assistant. If I am bored and don’t want to drive to a Redbox machine to rent a movie, I can hit the internet. The world around me is adapting to speed and I have yet to adjust my mind around half the options now offered!

This "blessing in disguise" moment has made me realize that I sometimes apply my need for speed to my prayers with God. How often have we prostrated ourselves humbly for a prayer request with an internal expectation of instant gratification? How often do we find ourselves disappointed with God’s timing? Sure we know to trust in His timing since the Bible is filled with verses about it, but honestly, deep down our culture is telling us we shouldn't have to wait. We are becoming disenchanted with our lack of patience and God gave me a recent reminder to step back and trust His timing!


Has God given you any recent reminders to trust His timing?