Why Wait?

I am the most impatient person I know. I hate waiting. I have too many other things I want to do to waste time standing in lines or sitting in traffic.

Contrary to the popular saying, I am all about the destination, not about the journey. Plane rides drive me crazy (beside the fact that that I’m in a suspended metal tube flying miles above the ground completely out of control) mostly because all I can do is sit and slowly creep toward the place that I wish I was right now. Car rides aren’t any better. I run back from the mailbox and the car because I just want to be at the final destination of the house (my neighbors probably think I’m nuts!). And the spinning wheel of death on my computer screen is my nemesis.

God has blessed me by giving me a very patient husband. Mostly he practices his patience with my weird quirks and dramatic personality, but he also encourages me in my own patience. During our dating and engagement, his mantra was “It’s better when you wait.” (oddly, this was mostly in regard to food;when I’m hungry, I want to eat NOW).

So when I stumbled upon the delicious looking bread recipe that required 12 HOURS!!! of rise time, I was like “That is WAY too long to wait!”. When I write “bake bread” on my to do list in the morning, I can’t cross it out for at least 13 hours (you list-enthusiasts know what I’m talking about). If I’m going to go through the trouble of making homemade bread, I want results within a short amount of time. I saved the link in my bookmarks for a long time before I finally decided to put in the time to try it.

Sometimes the hardest things to wait for are not the little everyday inconveniences (like waiting for bread to rise), but the big picture things. When life gets difficult and we just can’t seem to see solutions or an end in sight, we are called to wait on God’s timing. We live in a culture of instant gratification, and it’s easy to have the mindset that we are owed answers and conveniences the moment we want them. But when things don’t work out the way we think they should, we have to trust that God has a better plan than ours (I’m preaching to myself here). In my heart of hearts, I know that His way is best, but I really want to know how things are going to work out NOW!

But I’m selling myself short when I don’t wait on God. I miss the benefits of trusting Him because I become consumed with worry and doubts. Will I ever get what I want? Will it work out the way I think it should? Will I be able handle what I have to do? No amount of worry will answer those questions; only complete trust. And sometimes patience.

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:23-25

And though it may seem like a silly metaphor, when I took the time to wait for the bread to rise, and it came out of the oven, it was the most delicious carb-filled goodness. In this case, Owen’s words ring true: it is better when you wait.

Try out the recipe: Crusty Bakery Bread Recipe. Mine turned out looking just like the pictures on her blog and that NEVER happens. It’s delicious with a little butter and homemade blackberry jam.