“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently;” Psalm 37:5-7a (ESV)
Ace’s little heart beats for watching big trucks. Dump trucks, front loaders, even lawn mowers; if there’s machinery in sight, he’s got his eye on it. So when we turned into the park filled with unexpected construction equipment the other day, he was ecstatic! It looked like they had been busy all morning preparing the gravel path that encompasses the park to be re-stoned. By the time we got there they were almost done for the day, having just laid the dusty foundation and now packing it down smooth with rollers.
The last roller was pulling around right in front of us. So I slowed down and my boys waved vigorously from the stroller at the man driving it. Ace’s mouth gaped open in awe. As far as he was concerned, we had just scored a front row seat to the best parade in town! The man waved back and continued on his way, leaving a perfectly smooth, flat surface on the walkway. We joined the path behind him to walk down to the playground about a 1/2 mile away.
Once the beloved heavy equipment had driven out of view, Ace snapped out of his construction trance and suddenly realized where we were going. We weren’t just out for any walk watching the big trucks- we were going to the PLAYGROUND! He looked up at me, using all his might to intensely point over to the swings. “Yep! We’re going to the playground!” I confirmed his silent, hopeful questioning.
And that’s all he needed to hear.
I was busy scoping out the playground from afar making a game plan for where to park the stroller today, and THUD! The stroller hit something…it was ACE! He had wiggled his little body out of the front of the stroller and plopped onto the freshly rolled path.
I stopped to make sure he was ok after being run over by his distracted mama. He was fine, and eager to make a run for the playground. But, I scooped him up and put him back in the stroller to ride the rest of the way instead.
When I looked down at the path, I realized we had made a huge indent right in the middle of this nice, smooth path. It was an unmistakable eye sore. I mentally apologized to whoever would find it and have to smooth it out again later, and, trying to get back on track to the playground, I maneuvered through the new preschooler-sized dent in the ground. It took a couple tries with some force, and a bumpy ride for my passengers, but the stroller wheels skidded through it and we were back on our way on the smooth path.
Though I felt bad I had literally run over my 3-year-old son with a stroller- I couldn’t help but chuckle and shake my head. As much as I try not to admit it, I know he gets a lot of his zealous impatience from me.
Once I think I know where God’s leading, I grow impatient and want to jump out of His pace for me and run there myself.
But when we jump too early, instead of trusting in God’s way for getting us there, we make our path bumpier than it needs to be.
Purposeful waiting, the kind of waiting Psalm 37 is talking about, is giving God our steps and trusting in His speed for getting us to where we’re supposed to be. It’s trusting in God’s intimate knowledge of our hearts and recognizing that the waiting period is His love for us, not stalling us away from our destination. He knows the path before us better than we do.
At the park, I knew we still had a ways to walk before we’d make it to the swings. Ace would have tired his little legs out running in excited determination and wouldn’t have the energy to enjoy what he wanted once we got to the actual playground. To him, it was right there in sight. But we actually still had over a quarter-mile to go. His judgement was limited because he didn’t see the whole path ahead of us.
In the same way, our judgement is limited. God sees the whole path ahead of us. We don’t see everything coming that He sees. Sometimes His plan seems to be taking longer than it should. But He is fully aware of what’s ahead. He knows what we can handle, and at what pace we can handle it.
There’s hot friction when God’s pace doesn’t match the pace I want to be going.
I want to set my own pace. But how can I do that if I don’t know everything about the path that’s in front of me? I don’t really know how long it is, or what kind of terrain I’ll be meeting up ahead. I don’t know how mentally taxing it will be, or even if I’m currently in the right shape to survive what this path demands.
So, instead of tiring myself out before I even get there, I want to lean into God’s all-knowing pace for me. I want to take my steps living out Proverbs 3-
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)
Being patient is hard. Sometimes walking in God’s timing doesn’t feel any more natural to us as sitting patiently with a playground in sight is for my 3-year-old. Time and time again, I impatiently jump out too quickly and get run over by life I didn’t see coming. But God is faithful to lovingly scoop me up off the ground and plop me back in His perfectly paced plan for getting where I’m supposed to be.
Are you in a season of waiting? Frustrated by God’s pace moving slower than you think it should? I pray you can breathe in these passages filled with loving guidance and promise. I pray you will experience for yourself, “healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones”.
From one of His children to another,
Christi
Love this post, so true!