long time

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I’ve Been Waiting For A Long Time

Waiting is something we do all the time, but not that well. I guess I shouldn’t speak for everyone; there must be someone out there who’s good at waiting.

waiting for train

But I would say, on average, not many of us enjoy it. We are programmed to get things fast.

I was recently at a farmers’ market and there were all kinds of people at this one booth, trying to purchase vegetables.

The seller was helping one person at a time, but I noticed a woman getting things herself. Then instead of waiting until the seller had finished with someone else, she handed a five dollar bill over everyone’s heads, showed what she had and left. She didn’t wait at all.

Most of us would do that if we could (if we didn’t think it was impolite to butt in line) because we hate waiting.

I just read the other day that there are three hour wait times at the border to get into Canada from the USA. Our dollar is down, and gas is fairly cheap. Why not take a trip to Canada for vacation?

Well, a three hour wait at the border apparently has everyone up in arms. Travellers are pulling their hair out.

Can you imagine a car with a few kids in the back seat, continuously asking, “When are we going to get there?” … and the car hasn’t moved more that five feet in the last twenty minutes?!

Vacation? Those kids will be lucky if they survive the trip through the Canadian border.

Merchants are all up in arms as well. They say that every minute of delay at the border is more money not spent in Canadian stores. They want the government to either schedule or hire more customs officers, like right now!

Forget all this waiting! It’s tough; it’s not easy; we hate it.

But what about waiting on God?

Recently, I needed to fill a preaching assignment for just after my vacation. Usually I have that all set up before I go away, but this year I had already been turned down once and had to wait into my vacation for an answer from a second person.

One week into my vacation I got an answer that he wasn’t going to be available, so I needed a plan B.

Just as I thought of a plan and was about to act on it, I received an email from someone in my congregation who felt compelled to share with everyone what God has been doing in his life.

By the end of the second week of my vacation I had my speaker. I had to wait two weeks for God to provide, but when it was all said and done, I didn’t have to do anything to arrange it. God took care of it.

All I had to do was wait – not easy to do, but sometimes that’s what it takes.

Here’s the thing: We do have to wait for a lot of things in life. We have to wait in lines, at bank machines, restaurants, border crossings, movie theatres, and pretty much anything else you can think of. We also have to wait on God for things. Waiting is not the enemy; waiting is part of life. When it comes to God, waiting on Him will bring the best to whatever we are waiting for. Don’t tear your hair out, or fixate on the waiting. Relax, keep going and see what God will bring about.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to wait on God for that’s been frustrating you up until now? Leave your comments below.

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Forty Years and Forty Pounds

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen some of my high school buddies. I’ve known most of them for over 40 years. We got together a few weeks ago because one of the guys was visiting Toronto from out west.

The Corner3.9

He moved out there 30 years ago and says he’ll never move back. I know you’re probably thinking he moved out to Vancouver or some other west coast city. If you’re thinking that, though, you’re wrong, because this guy is never coming back from Ded Reer, I mean Red Deer, Alberta.

Nothing wrong with Red Deer; I passed by it lots when I lived in Edmonton. You always felt good as you made that one slight bend in the road between Calgary and Edmonton. Red Deer was the indicator you were half way to your destination or half way home.

I was looking forward to seeing the guys, but I happened to look in a mirror a few minutes beforehand and realized I didn’t really look the same as I did in high school.

And though I knew all the guys very well, when a few of them showed up, it was like seeing them for the first time.

I found the two biggest factors in recognizing my old friends were weight and hair. If they didn’t have hair, that made it difficult, because 40 years ago we all had hair (lots of it, too).  If they had gained weight, that also made it difficult because it altered their facial features (along with some other features). If they lost hair and gained weight, well, then it was like being introduced to a brand new friend.

One guy I didn’t recognize the entire night! It took my brain until the next morning to run him through my internal facial recognition files, but there he was … although now he is a little slimmer, a little better dressed, and his hair is way more under control.

There were 15 of us who descended on Wendel Clark’s Classic Grill and Sports Lounge that evening. And it took most of us about 4 hours or so to undo 40 years of history. But believe me, the old jokes, nicknames, stories and fables all surfaced during the night.

It’s hard to imagine that you can have little or no contact with people for years and years, but once you get them all back together in the same room, it’s like you never were apart. It was still as comfortable and easy to be with these guys as it was back when our hair was shoulder length and we were listening to Steely Dan and Elton John.

Here’s the thing: Lots can happen in life. Things can change us, and make us look a lot different than we once did, both inside and out. But God knows us so well that if we decide to meet with Him again, it will be like we were never apart. It’ll still be comfortable and easy. Let me encourage you to meet with God and refresh your relationship. He is eager to get together with you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Who have you found it easy to reconnect with after a long time apart?  Leave your comment below.