Funny how God reveals Himself even in the zaniest, most unique ways.
I left my friend’s house at around 12 MN today. As soon as I got out, their neighbors’s dogs started barking. Now two of these creatures were gargantuan and scary-looking. I am not a very big fan of dogs, especially when they bark.
A couple of things didn’t help:
- It was dark.
- Their neighbor did not have a gate.
- One of the dogs was sitting on the street.
Thankfully the aforementioned street doggie was small and quite furry–but barking at me relentlessly.
Oh, and did I mention that the opposite end of my friend’s house was a dead end?
That meant I needed to walk through the noisy, barking, angry, growling dogs to go home–one of which was walking freely on the street, and very much had the capacity to bite me.
One wrong move and I could have gone home bleeding, wounded, and possibly rabid.
I did not want that.
So there I stood in front of my friend’s house, a couple feet away from the angry doggies, assessing my options. I was already thinking about how long I would stand there, how I could possibly go home unscathed. I groped in my bag for my mobile to have another friend come pick me up, only to realize that I left it in my friend’s house. Of course, the house was locked, and I didn’t really want to go back inside just to get my phone.
I stood there. And waited. And waited some more.
The big dogs were the least of my concerns. I simply wanted the “free” dog to go out of the way so I could pass the street in peace.
Eventually–I don’t know for how long–the little runt grew tired of barking and went in its master’s garage. Awesome! I would have fist-pumpted if I weren’t so nervous. I folded my slacks to my knees and readied myself. I prayed under my breath and ran as fast as I could. Never mind the louder barks and the possibility of the dog chasing me. I felt like I was literally running for my life.
While walking out of their village, I realized one major thing that I’ll never forget:
There is wisdom in waiting.
I can’t imagine what could have happened if I decided to charge.
All of us wait for something at various points in our lives. It may be an exam result, our order for lunch, or the right guy or girl. Sometimes we think that waiting is a drag, that it’s more of a chore than a virtue. That waiting is a sissy thing to do. But, really, waiting can do us more good than simply going our own limited and pathetic ways.
And we can always go beyond whining and complaining while we’re waiting.
I think for the most part, waiting is an act of trust. It’s acknowledging the fact that everything cannot be done according to your own terms. That the universe won’t bend to your will no matter how much you want it to. More often than not, we attempt to charge and run and go forward without God’s go-signal. It springs out of a mindset that we know better, that we deserve better. In reality, God’s seen how everything begins and ends. How dare we presume that we know better than God.
Wisdom in waiting. It’s letting God be God and surrendering all outcomes to Him.
With no blood, bruises, wounds, or rabies.
Subscribe Feed (RSS)
