Patience and Timing

I don’t know why, but, lately I have been feeling the need to rush. I’m feeling pressured and uncomfortable on all sides. All tell-tale signs that the Lord is about to do something. Every promotion I’ve ever had to the next level spiritually has always come through pressurized circumstances or situations. I’m struggling to not want to race ahead and try to make something, anything happen on my own.

Yet, I keep getting this inkling from the Lord to be patient just a bit longer and trust in His timing. But I don’t have to worry because when I forget, He reminds me. And I was given a  couple of real-life reminders recently.

A couple of days ago, I was running late to a meeting. It was my first time meeting with this organization, so it was important to me that I arrived on time. And as luck would have it, my gas light was on in my car. I would have to stop for gas on my way. I swiped my card as soon as I pulled up to the pump at the gas station. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity watching the screen beep at me, “Please Wait, Authorizing.” When I felt that I couldn’t wait any longer, I went in to the attend, who informed me that the transaction had just gone through at the pump and that I needed to go back to complete my purchase.  I went to the pump. Sure enough, the screen was asking me for input. When I entered the needed information, the screen came back, “Please See Attendant.” Back I went to the attendant, who was quite confused to see me again so quickly. It had taken me two back-and-forth trips before I could finally start fuelling my car.

At the end of last week, I had my other experience with patience and timing. I ordered an item online at 35% off a couple weeks before and had the item shipped to the store. Due to an unexpected glitch, I never received an email when my item arrived to the store. I was surprised that my item hadn’t come in yet, so I went to the store. The store attendant couldn’t find my item or any record of my purchase, and I had left the printout of my receipt at home. I was told to call the store as soon as I had the order information and they would see what they could do to help me. When I called the store with my order number, I was informed that because I hadn’t picked the item up on time, the sale had been cancelled. But, the person I spoke to was willing to check and see if it was still in the store. Luckily, this attendant was able to find my order; she placed it on hold for me to come back and purchase. When I went back to the store, my item had been placed in the clearance area, and I ended up purchasing it at 70% off. What an incredible surprise ending!

It is interesting to note that both experiences involved delays and a need for patience. But there were slight differences. At the gas station, it was my impatience that caused an unnecessary delay. With the online purchase, through no fault of my own, there was an unexpected delay that yielded an equally unexpected blessing. The Lord is going to do things in my life according to  his own timing. I need to be patient and expect that at some point, there will be a blessing as a result of my patience.