I don’t know about you, but in our family when we make big purchases my husband and I talk about it and agree on it before we actually “pull the trigger” and buy it. What constitutes a big purchase for us may be different for you, but you get the point. My husband loves the hunt. I despise it. I never was good at comparison shopping and I think it’s because it takes too long. When I want something. I want it now. My husband will say, “It’s not the first good deal that has come along, and it won’t be the last.” Over the years I’ve come to realize he is right on that point. I still don’t enjoy it though. Let’s take the last major purchase we made. I needed a car. The one I was driving had 280,000 miles on it, wasn’t in the best condition cosmetically and the air wasn’t working properly. Now you know a woman going through menopause can not be driving a car on a hot summer day without air conditioning. You women know what I’m talking about. And, men . . . it would be best for you too if you did not let that happen. You too will suffer, trust me. So, we had the task of “shopping” for a car. I had two things in mind — I wanted a certain make and model; and I wanted something with low mileage. After some discussion my husband agreed he would do the shopping for us. I’m telling you the truth. He actually wanted to shop for this car. I had no involvement until it was time to decide on the color I wanted; and when it was time to go pick up the car. I must admit that I was getting a little impatient throughout the 2 weeks it took for him to work his magic and wheel and deal with the dealerships, but it paid off. In the end I was driving the nicest car I had ever driven, and at a reasonable price. So I had to wait. Was it so bad? I finally learned something in the process of waiting . . . my husband was really good at this stuff and he liked it!!!

We are like that with God sometimes, wouldn’t you say? We ask him for something, but we want it now. We don’t want to go through the process of waiting. Psalms 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, unto the Lord.” Maybe God has something to show us while we are waiting for him to answer that prayer. It may not even relate to what we have asked him for. But, the Bible tells us that whatever the lesson God has for us, He will strengthen us in the process.