Rushed

I spent time at a friend's house today learning to make this adorable domino necklace and keychain. I made the keychain for myself, and I made the necklace for Gracie (and oh yes, Gracie starts with an "R" in real life). My friend generously shared her supplies and wisdom, the project was so easy, and it took mere moments to create such cuteness. When we were finished with the craft, she and another friend left for a lunch date, and I declined a dining invitation in favor of errands to be run.

While on my way to Target to pick up a filled prescription, I sat idling in a left turn lane waiting for the light to turn green. Now, I don't think it's a secret that I can be a scooch aggressive when I drive, so it's not like I was sitting at the stoplight filing my nails. Despite my readiness, the moment the light turned green -- and I mean, the moment it turned green -- the truck behind me honked his horn. People, I had not even had time for the neurons in my brain to fire informing my foot that it was time to stop braking, and this guy was already honking at me. I glanced in my rearview mirror, wondering why he was in such a hurry, and moved forward to get out of his way.

That display of impatience reminded me of a sales pitch I heard last week. During a spare moment, I stopped at a big box store to look at a little electronic widget I was considering as a Valentine's gift for James. There were three brands of this particular little doohickey, and as I compared the three myself, I ruled out the least expensive one. The midpriced model was $10.00 more expensive than the lowest quality option. The third option was $20.00 more expensive than that. I couldn't see any clear differences between the remaining two, so I called a sales person over to help me. Though he gave a very thorough spiel on both models, I still couldn't distinguish a clear difference.

I asked him outright, "What specifically makes this one $20.00 more expensive than the other?"

"An on/off switch," he said.

"A what?"

"An on/off switch."

"And what else?" I asked, because surely that couldn't be the only difference.

But it was. The on/off switch was the single difference.

Apparently, the more expensive model was fitted with an on/off switch that provided instant results, as opposed to the less valuable on/off button that required an 8-10 second press. According to the sales man, busy businessmen do not have 8-10 spare seconds in their day to turn their little toy off. Because they're so swamped with the business of business, they toss them to the side, still on, leaving the battery to run down and rendering the widget unusable. I kept pressing him for more, but increadulously, that seriously was the single difference between the differently priced two.

Internally I was thinking, I'm the woman who spends hours clipping coupons and scouring ads to save 35 cents on cheese -- am I seriously being encouraged to pay $20.00 extra dollars so my hubby can spare 8 seconds? I have no opposition to an on/off switch, but I seriously cannot imagine someone with a need for such immediate results that $20.00 more dollars would actually be a good value (though I'm sure people spend it for that reason alone).

I chuckled to myself as he continued on, but immediately realized I have the same expectations with spiritual things. When I don't have those immediate results, when I have to wait out the press, I think I'd much rather toss it all to the side, rendering every part of it useless. Oh, that I would have the strength and patience to just wait.

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop
and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm,
because the Lord's coming is near...
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of Job's perseverance
and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
James 5:7-8, 11

"But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have,
we must wait patiently and confidently."
Romans 8:25 NLT