He was so impatient about it and wondered why it had happened for all of his siblings except him. Ever since our youngest son, six-year-old Kaleb discovered he had a loose tooth last month, he had been not-so-patiently waiting for it to come out.
For weeks, it was loosening, but the tooth took its sweet time dislodging from the gums enough for a painless extraction. But last night, everything changed.
When Kaleb showed me how easily he could move it backward and forward with his tongue, I knew the time had come. It was ready.
Sure enough, when I gripped it, I easily popped the tooth out before my little guy even realized what had happened. So when I showed him the small piece of ivory between my fingers, his eyes grew big and he said, “Wow, it didn’t even hurt!”
He was so happy and ever-so-proud to show off his snag for the camera.
I must admit, I was (and still am) just as tickled about it as Kaleb—the same way I felt when our other three children lost their first tooth.
Ironically, Kenya, the kids and I were all in the midst of celebrating Kaleb’s milestone last evening, when our youngest daughter, 10-year-old Kaiah, called my attention to a loose tooth in her mouth.
“I don’t think it’s ready yet, though,” she told me.
“Come here and let me see,” I summoned and shortly thereafter, began my examination of her wobbly molar.
My sweet little girl discovered how wrong she was as she eyed the “not ready” tooth, I, the family's official teeth-puller--Kenya does not get down with that! Squeamish much? ;-)-- was suddenly holding between my thumb and pointer finger while grinning.
She was astounded.
The secret is knowing when the tooth is ready and not trying to yank it out before time. When the right moment arrives, there is no resistance, no pain, and voilà! It’s done.
As the saying goes, timing is everything, which is the core lesson for us all today.
Surely, in our walk with the Lord, waiting can be difficult and enduring the process preceding the promise often feels tedious. But no one begins the race at the finish line. The journey must take its course.
But the good news is, if we keep running and enduring, our time of waiting will pass. And the breakthrough we have so desperately longed for will come when the season is both ripe and right for manifestation.
To encourage you not to be weary while you wait and to keep on persevering, I’m stirring James 1:4 KJV into your cup of inspiration. It says, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will be reminded that everything in life is a process. But that is no cause to be discouraged, because through patient endurance, you and I are positioned to possess the promises of our faithful God.
And when the wait is over, there will be no pain or resistance as we occupy the place God has destined us to be.
Hang in there and abide in His timing
Now let’s pray.
Father, thank You for encouraging me to be patient with Your process. Whenever I feel anxious about abiding within Your timing, please remind me of the great work patience is doing to position me for what You have in store for me. Even though I don’t enjoy every phase of my journey toward divine destiny, I yet thank You for it, because it is daily molding me into the vessel You would have me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
