Skip to main content

What Are You Waiting For?


I waited for 2 hours in the hot Florida sun in a line that saw no shadows from trees. I waited there because it was the line to see Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, from the Disney movie Tangled. No it wasn't for me. And I wasn't alone. Sweaty dads filled a line that went nowhere really fast. I waited for my daughters, whose trip was made complete by meeting Rapunzel and Flynn.

While I waited, my wife took the kids on a couple of rides. They joined me in time to smile for photos and talk with this newest Disney princess and her prince. Jerica, my 4-year old, ask Flynn to put the smolder on.
This begs the question, was it worth it? Was my patient suffering in affliction worth the prize at the end? Perhaps I'm being over dramatic, but my answer is yes. It was worth it. Dads have gone through much more for their children. But while I sat there waiting, I did ponder.

After all, people will wait like that at Disney (for rides as well as character greetings), for good seats at a concert, for sales on Black Friday, or even to purchase movie tickets. We share stories of incredible dedication that people have for different things. But have you ever seen this in church?

When was the last time people lined up the night before to make sure they got a good seat at church? How often have you counted the days before a church potluck? Have you ever highly anticipated the pastor's sermon? We could take this one step further...

How long did people wait to see Jesus? Did they allow discomfort to discourage them? Did they give up after it seemed too long? Just like our stars of today, they had heard stories of miracles and great teaching about Jesus. But was there a breaking point for most people? I like to consider the people who were not there for healing. What about those people that just wanted a glimpse? How long were they willing to wait?
How long are we willing to wait for Jesus? Are we patient in suffering? Are we enduring scorn and shame for His sake? There were several people that found out what we dads were waiting for at Disney, rolled their eyes and moved along.

We draw near to things we are passionate about.

 Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ~Hebrews 10:22 

*I have shared this story on my blog before. I recently shared these thoughts with my youth group. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl

Patience

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his robe. I’d