in its time...

I love Mexican food.

Not only am I a fan of the menu, but I love that the moment I sit down I'm given a basket of chips and bowl of salsa.  Immediate gratification.

I think it’s also the reason I like mowing lawns with tall grass, and like working the sprayer in the dishroom.  You see change instantaneously! 

I want this to translate into people.  I'm the kind of person who wants to see transformation happen overnight.  I don’t want to wait for it.  I want that to be true for myself, too...especially as I become aware of my imperfections.

Discouragement has its way with me when I feel like I haven’t changed at all.  Sometimes I’ll flip through old journals and mourn the fact that I'm still dealing with the same things I dealt with 8 years ago.  At what point will I wake up and finally be patient, and trusting, and loving, and joyful and possess self-control?   At what point can I take a mower and just cut away all the tall grass, or take high-pressured scorching water and quickly rinse away all the grimy food residue? 

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s often how the Lord seeks to refine us.  In fact, this idea of refining means that it is all part of this process…it’s the opposite of instantaneous.   I can’t rush it, and when I try to it usually means that I’ve messed up something important in the process. 

Isn’t it funny how we even try to take control of the Lord working on us? 

I’ve come to realize that I can’t rush it.  I’ve come to realize that I can’t make myself get to the point where I think I ‘should’ be.  I’ve come to realize that I don’t really even know where that is or what the Lord’s end goal is for me, and so I need to let it go. 

Change is happening all around us.

Change is happening in us.  We might not always see it for what it is…but I have to let the refining happen in the Lord’s timing and in His way.  You should try it, too. And let us trust that we are not the same people we were in the past, even if we have moments where we still deal/struggle with the same things. 

After all, He makes all things beautiful….in its time.  

I encourage you to dwell in the truth of the song below for a few moments...and then go enjoy some chips and salsa for me!

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