It takes 3 minutes to heat up a microwave dinner at home. It takes 3 hours to prepare potatoes, beans, and cabbage here in Butere, Kenya.
At home, we turn the nozzle in the shower and (hot!) water comes out so we can bathe. In the village you walk to the river, fill up your bucket, carry it back, then pour pitchers of water over your body. In Kenya, you fill a bucket with water and soak your clothes in laundry detergent. You rinse and scrub until your clothes are clean then ring them out and set them to dry. Obviously you just throw your clothes into a machine for a few minutes at home and they magically appear fresh and soft once exiting the machine.
Fast food, drive-thru pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc etc – America has developed into a Microwave Society. We want and expect everything right away and in the most convenient way possible. This type of fast-pace, busy mentality has also carried over to our spiritual lives and journeys. We want to know God’s plan for us NOW! We expect to develop an incredible global ministry or start a community-wide revival in just a couple years! Newsflash… God doesn’t live by the same 24 hours a day, seven day a week calendar that we do. I have a feeling His timing is more often than not like African time- where the bus leaving at 8am really means 1pm, and dinner at 6:30pm means eating at 10pm. In Africa, you give or take a few hours; with God, I would dare to say give or take a few years. Sometimes it’s hard to just sit and remain where God has you for a time when your jumping at the seems to move on to the “next thing.” My question is, why are we always searching for the “next thing?” It probably isn’t going to be all its cracked up to be and might not meet your grand expectations. So what do we do when that happens?? We move on to the next thing. We rush, we hurry, we stay busy. We don’t relish the time God has set a part for us to be in that place, doing that thing, at that time. We don’t use that time to let God refine us, take us through some fires, celebrate with us, and develop us for what He does have planned next.
I’m scared of not finding something to jump into right after the race for fear of looking lazy or irresponsible. But in my heart I know the Lord is just using this beautiful time while on the race to continue transforming my mind, growing my desires and passions, and bringing me closer to His heart all in preparation for His future plans.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
I’m not going to rush, hurry, or busy myself with something that is easily available and convenient when God has something way better. But that something takes time and I might have to wait. God is constantly refining and challenging us in different ways. I don’t want to be in such a rush to get to where I’m going next that I miss out on the beauty of the now. Sometimes the now isn’t so fun, sometimes it really sucks. But embracing the now when its hard instead of running to the next might just be God plan.
Just like we should probably cook a fresh meal instead of heating up our sodium packed microwave dinner… we should also “wait for the Lord”* so that we are fully satisfied.
* “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord, More than those who watch for the morning- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6
