I'll Take Second Best, Please

"Our willingness to wait [on God]

reveals the value we place on the object

we desire."

-A pastor on t.v.

"What do you want, and what are you

willing to give up in order to get it?"

-Rita Davenport, President of Arbonne International

The sermon that the first quote is taken from was about how God desires the very best for each and every one of us; but He often requires us to wait a period of time before He brings it about -- sometimes minutes, sometimes months, sometimes a few years, sometimes decades. And we often get impatient and decide to do something to speed up the process, and in so doing, miss out on the best.

Take the very common example of marriage. Depending on who you marry, you'll have to make different sacrifices or changes in order for the marriage to work. There is always compromise in a lasting marriage. God has a purpose and a plan for your life, and there are some compromises that you just shouldn't be willing to make, even for a spouse. But God doesn't always bring that person into your life exactly when you believe you're ready. So the question is: do you put more value on who you marry, or when you get married? Do you care if you have to give up your life-long dream in order to get married before all your friends do? Or are you willing to get married later on in life if it means you marry someone who boosts you in your dreams instead of making you give them up or cutting them in half?

Or with job hunting. That's my realm, right now. Ever since returning from Lancaster in September, all I've found so far is a couple part time jobs that don't pay the bills. I had planned to find the perfect fit job or jobs (I didn't mind the idea of two part time jobs) by October or November at the latest. It's now May, and I am once again searching for that ever elusive job. I work 10-15 hours at Curves, and, on average, about 5 hours for a friend of mine. I could work up to 10 hours for him, but I'm still trying to get the hang of working at home, and focusing for long periods of time at the computer on one project. But if I had found a full-time or two steady and dependable part time jobs when I had wanted, I wouldn't have been available to help my friend Lucille out around her house while she recovered from shoulder surgery. And, chances are, if God has made me wait this long, it probably means there's a job He wants me to take that just wasn't or isn't available yet. Perhaps it's available now and I'll find it soon. Perhaps it's one of the ones I'm pursuing right now. I could've gone back to the job I left when I moved to Lancaster a year-and-a-half ago, and kept from needing the stress of searching for something new, but I didn't want to work until 8 o'clock every night of the week. I could've compromised on that, and taken the job back, but that would mean any Bible study during the week would be out of the question, I may not have been able to participate in Conversations, my church's Easter performance, I wouldn't have been available to help my friend Lucille while she recovered, and any other weekday evening activities would have been out of the question.

What you want often, if not always, requires you to compromise or give up something, but you need to know what you aren't willing to give up or compromise, or else you'll settle for second best.

I ain't settlin' for just getting by

I've had enough so-so 

For the rest of my life

Tired of shootin' too low,

So raise the bar high

'Cause enough ain't enough this time

I ain't settlin'

For anything less than everything

-Sugarland