Why We Wait

Today I cleaned my house. It's certainly not a fun or glamorous way to spend the weekend, but it had to be done. I started late morning and finished up late tonight. Of course, there were three basketball games and some laundry thrown in, but even so, it was an all day chore.

I don't like to clean; however, I love a clean environment. I don't like to practice, but I love giving a good performance. I didn't like to study, yet I loved getting good grades. See the trend?

It's not in our nature to do hard things. We like things to come easy and quickly. Cue the world takeover of Amazon. I like the convenience of ordering what I need, but I don't truly appreciate what I get (though I may love it). In fact, I get a little bent out of shape when I get that message that they're running late and it may be three (GASP!) days instead of two.  But here's the thing, we don't appreciate stuff that come to us that way. When's the last time you truly enjoyed fast food? We don't get it because it's delicious, we get it because it's fast. 

In contrast, I loved running half marathons...well, okay... I loved finishing half marathons. In order to finish one, I had to train for months, suffer through strains and injuries, and cry many tears over the fact that I run slower than most EVERYONE. However, when I crossed that finish line, I felt like a champion. It didn't matter what my time was, I finished something I thought I could never do. 

I didn't love anything about spending my Saturday scrubbing toilets and vacuuming. However, I'm now writing in a clean environment and I love that. It's especially nice when I finish after most people are in bed. There's just something about knowing that it's going to stay clean for a few hours that makes me happy. 

Today I'm thankful that God doesn't give us everything we ask for when we ask for it. I don't like it, but I appreciate it. I'm thankful He gives us the opportunity to work for it - prayer, fasting, waiting. The things we wait for, have prayed for for so long, are the things we truly love.