I learned I was pregnant with my sixth child 10 years after my first. We were all excited and filled with anticipation. My daughter Hart was around 2 to 2 1/2 and took great interest in the developing baby in my belly. “So Mommy, what’s the baby doing now?” “Mommy, is the baby hungry?” “When can I see the baby?” “Why cant the baby come out now?” I bought a children’s book to help her through the process but the questions just continued daily. There were times I found them to be “cute” and other times quite “annoying;” needless to say, my inquisitive 2-year-old did not let up until the day our Dory was born and she could see for herself her new baby sister.
My children are all quite older now but I look back on that time and am reminded of something my daughter taught me. We all know that in pregnancy, we couldn’t go to our Obstetrician and demand for a c-section. “Doctor, I’m just tired of waiting and I know it’s only been 5 months but I want to be delivered today.” At 5 months the baby is not fully developed. The probability that it would live is very low at least without a great deal of artificial intervention. God’s plan for the creation of a baby is pretty definite – 40 weeks – and most people know and understand the process. We only get anxious toward the end when we know its time.
How often are we like my daughter Hart to God? “God, I’ve been praying for two weeks and nothing has happened?” “God, when? When are you going to give this to me?” “Why can’t it just happen now?” Just as a developing baby is in the hands of our Creator, so are the days of our lives. God’s intricate details are perfect and the outcome is in line with His plan for our purpose.
Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
In a society of Fast Food restaurants and Instant Messaging, One Hour Dry Cleaning and Overnight Delivery, we have become people who struggle with such a term -“WAITING.” Mr. Rogers from PBS’s children’s show used to sing a song, “What can we do while we’re waiting?” For years when my children were young, I would carry around a bag filled with entertaining objects for the sole purpose of getting us through the “waiting” times at the Dr.’s Office or meetings. It has become a human flaw, this waiting game. We complain about long lines and if our oil and lube session takes more than 15 minutes, we become annoyed.
Understand this – God is not in a hurry. Through out the Bible, every account of greatness took “TIME.” And there is nothing that God does that isn’t GREAT. There is a phrase, “Time is on our side.” With God, it is because He knows exactly the right amount of time to develop that chunky, pink, miracle of a baby even when we ask, like my daughter, for Him to hurry up. He knows the right amount of time and training we need to move forward in a particular direction. It is only when we decide to jump before He has instructed that we get into trouble.
My son, Bo, swam for Georgia Tech. Sometimes, swimmers will have a “false start.” This is when a swimmer goes off the blocks before the correct time. A rope is dropped across the pool to stop any of the young men who are hard pressed in pursuit of victory, and the “false starter” is disqualified. It must be difficult to stand on the blocks, the stillness of the water below, the breath of the other challengers in rhythm, waiting for the starter to give the signal. Many times we “false start” before God is ready for us to dive in and swim for the win.
Wait for the Lord – His time is always “on our side.”
