Waiting

“REED” This

 

Waiting

 

Monday morning, I had the opportunity to get out of my routine and play some golf. As it turned out, our ministers’ outing tee time this month was at 8:30 with only one golfer – me. I really enjoy playing golf with others, especially other pastors and getting to fellowship with them and laugh at their shots. But, I also enjoy just playing by myself sometimes. With the early tee time, I knew I needed to leave the house a little earlier because traffic coming onto the island around 8:00 would be heavy. Unfortunately, I didn’t know it would be THAT heavy, as both lanes of the causeway came to a stop on the Mackay River bridge. I found myself creeping along, waiting for the other cars to move. I said to myself, “This is not good. I’m going to be late.” Slowly, the vehicles ahead of me began to move and I was able to get through the congestion. I didn’t take Sea Island Road because that lane was not moving, so I went up Demere. Unfortunately, there were slower vehicles in front of me there and I had to wait on them to finally get into the right turning lane for McDonalds before I could get around them. I had to wait on several vehicles in the round about but finally made it onto Frederica Road heading north. Thankfully, my lane was mostly clear, and all the lights were green when I came to them. I made it to Hampton Point right at 8:30 and quickly made my way to the first tee and took a deep breath. It was a beautiful day and almost perfect for a round of golf. Since I was the only one playing and my shots were staying in the fairway, for the most part, I was able to play very quickly. When I came up to the fourth hole, I had to wait because there was a couple on the green. However, they waved me on to hit through, so I did. Once again, I was quickly playing through the course until I came to the fourteenth hole. There, I had to wait for a group ahead of me. I could see they were waiting on a group ahead of them. So, I decided to just relax because my moving fast was no longer happening. The last five holes of the round took about as long to play as the previous ten. It was wait, hit, and wait the rest of the time. I finished my round and was ready to head to meet Pastor Mike and Pastor Cameron for lunch. When I pulled out of the clubhouse area, a slow-moving delivery truck was pulling out of a driveway just in front of me. You guessed it, I was behind that slow truck all the way from the north end of the island to the church. We stopped several times along the way and I waited for it to start moving again, wanting it to turn off onto another street, but it never did. Even at the final light, I had to wait on cars coming from the other direction before I could turn left into the church parking lot.

 

I don’t like to wait. I dare say most if not all people are like me. We want things to move along. We have things to do, places to go, people to see. We don’t need to have to wait on something or someone else. However, not being willing to wait can get us into trouble. Being impatient and not waiting while driving can cause an accident. Not waiting and doing enough research can cause great financial loss with purchases or investments. Not waiting can cause you to miss seeing someone, miss enjoying time with others, and many other things. The psalmist points out the most important person we need to wait on. David writes in Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” We never want to get ahead of God and His moving and His timing. And when we are facing trials and difficulties, even from others, we can be like David and wait on God to move and take care of us in the best way – His way. Waiting on God is not always easiest, but when we do, it shows our faith in Him and strengthens that faith as He proves Himself faithful through that experience. Whatever decisions we need to make as an individual, a family, or a church, we need to make sure we are prayed up on it and waiting on God to move or tell us when to move. That’s the waiting I strive for.

 

Waiting in traffic, on the golf course, in the checkout line, and other places can be tiring and frustrating. But we need to patiently wait for our health, our safety, and our witness. That waiting may actually be waiting on God because He has something He wants to show us or do and we don’t want to miss it.

 

Bro. Paul Reed

 

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

 

 


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