First Baptist Church of Herndon

Are we there yet?

Linda Soller | Mar 16, 2015

The car is packed, the schedule planned out, snacks at the ready, you’ve barely gotten underway, and you hear it from the back seat, “Are we there yet?” You pause, knowing your answer at this critical moment could impact how quickly the question is asked again. Oh, it will be asked again, you are certain of that. If you’re driving you may look to your co-pilot. If you’re the co-pilot you may glance at the driver. If you’re both driver and co-pilot you may feel the urge to sigh. A simple answer of no we just started will guarantee whining from the back seat. You come up with something on the fly which seems to do the trick, or at least confuse and distract the passengers for the moment. As you continue on your way you wonder, how do we become so impatient at such an early age?

The day after our last snow storm I headed out to work. The schools were closed. I observed I was the only car as I turned on to the back road which would take me to a slightly larger road leading to my office. There I was cruising at the speed limit, but cautiously watching my surroundings so as not to have to break suddenly or make a motion leading to a slide. Suddenly in my rear view mirror I saw a white jeep barreling toward me. He had to be going fifteen miles over the speed limit. I remember thinking surely he would slow as he approached, because I had no intention of going faster under the conditions. Mind you, this was a two lane road with small hills and valleys where it’s illegal to pass under the best of conditions. Obviously the young man thought he was off-roading, because he whipped around me as though there was no snow, or ice, or the possibility of an oncoming vehicle. He must have needed to get “there” fast. As I approached the bigger road, about an eighth of a mile further along, he was just ahead at the light. I wondered if his recklessness seemed worth it to him. My guess is that it did. The impatience of youth.

What must it have been like as Jesus continued down the road to Jerusalem, knowing the significance of His journey yet taking the time to deal with the delays? Martha and Mary had little patience for their friend Jesus, who didn’t respond as quickly as they wanted. Their brother Lazarus was dying. They were convinced Jesus’ lack of urgency equaled of lack of concern. This story illustrates how we impose our needs on others. The women wanted Jesus to come right then. They weren’t concerned with what He might be doing or who else might need His attention. Jesus knew the lesson of patience was valuable and often hard to learn. Patience is a result of love, caring for others, thinking of the greater good, and setting priorities. Putting God’s plan as a priority over what we want is often a daunting task.

At work we have a favorite saying, “Failure to plan on your part, does not constitute and emergency on my part.” When your work is fundamentally customer service, no matter who the customer is, you know the frustration of reacting because someone else didn’t plan. Life can feel like a series of someone else’s emergencies that simply continue to rule our lives. Jesus calls us to be patient. He asks us to understand how we might fit in to God’s greater plan. We are reminded we need to work to reach our goals. We are comforted when we endure hardship and sorrow, encouraged to see the good coming out of the tragic. We start life impatient and go through a rapid transformation from infants to little demanding people. We learn early to want things, which isn’t always bad, but isn’t always good. At times we feel invincible, careless with others’ feelings or wellbeing. Gradually most of us  mature and become more thoughtful of others. Even so, we know we are incomplete, we know there’s so much yet to learn, we see the light at the end of the tunnel and ask God, “Are we there yet?”

Have a great week! :o)  Linda