You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia, he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk – you just add water and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice – you just add water and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, “What a country!”
I know what he means. I once saw a novelty item - it was a can of dehydrated water. The instructions read: Open can. Just add water.
We live in a world that craves instant gratification; instant satisfaction. Just add water. Ready to eat. Cooks in one minute. No need to wait.
One old story tells of a judge who questioned the defendant. “What are you charged with?” he asked.
“Doing my Christmas shopping early,” replied the man.”
“That’s no offense,” said the judge. “How early were you doing this shopping?”
“Before the store opened.”
Few of us will go to those extremes to satisfy our desire to “get it now,” but we know what we want and we wish we could have it yesterday. We don’t like to wait.
Yet waiting is a discipline we have to learn if we’re to be happy. Whether we learn to delay gratification or simply learn to be patient, we can’t live well without learning to wait.
There is certainly a place for decisiveness and action, but there is also a place for patience. Have you learned when to wait?
- Wait for guidance...learn to be still.
- Wait for wisdom...it will come with experience.
- Wait for growth...it happens in the fullness of time.
- Wait for the sunrise...there will be another day.
- Wait and be contented...it is a secret to inner peace.
There is a time to act, but there is also a time to wait. Learn to tell what time it is - great things can happen for those who learn to wait. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it well: “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience."
-- Steve Goodier
Image: flickr.com/Wendell
