IMPATIENCE AND ACTING OUT
Christine Wyrtzen
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us. Psalm 123:2
Ok, here goes. I don’t function well in disorder. I thrive on order. I don’t like mental cobwebs. I like clarity and persevere until I have it. I don’t like an array of papers on my desk. My goal is to start my weekend with my work finished. How bad is this condition?
My husband, Ron, got up one morning to get a drink and when he got back to the bed, I had made it. He laughed and said, “Guess I’m getting up.” Numerous times, too numerous to count, he left his coffee cup to go do something and when he returned, it was emptied and in the dishwasher. There have been jokes told (mostly true) that when we move into a new home, I want the pictures up by bedtime. My love for order, and closure, is over the top and I’m sure I’m OCD.
Ron once owned a navy blue plaid bathrobe. He had it many years and I thought it was time for a new one. I suggested ditching it. He protested and said it wasn’t time. A few more years went by and I felt it was surely time by then. Too ratty and faded for even charity, it went in the garbage. On the next garbage pick-up day, the bathrobe was at the curb. Little did I know that this would be a morning Ron would lift the lid on the garbage can for some reason. (Probably to check on what I had thrown out.) There was his bathrobe. I happened to look outside to see him walking up the driveway and, you guessed it, wearing his bathrobe. He rolled his eyes and I was hysterical. Now, when anything is missing, I tell him it’s probably with his bathrobe.
Most people have storage in their basement or garage. We have no storage because we have nothing to store. I've organized and weeded out. If I don’t use something in two years, it’s gone. The only things in our basement are several bins of Christmas decorations.
I think it’s time to look at David’s words. God is not impulsive. God is patient and waits until the perfect time to act in holiness. He is content to let us wait in our messes until we sort them out spiritually. Much of my life has been learning to wait in God’s waiting room. Decades have passed before God has brought salvation to a situation. And I have to say that when it came ~ I knew it was the right time.
P.S. In case you’re wondering, Ron no longer has the bathrobe. He wanted me to tell you.
Lord, Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for teaching me to wait. Help me to feel gratitude in the midst of waiting. For that, I need Your grace. Amen
Originally published Tuesday, 17 July 2018.
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