It Takes Time

When my brother Einar and I were young, our mother sometimes needed to distract us when we were a little too noisy. If she needed to concentrate, she gave us each an egg in two bowls, gave us forks and a dash of sugar, and told us to whip eggnog — we both loved eggnog!

Have you ever tried to whip eggnog with a fork? Let me tell you, it takes time! A lot of time! I remember that we would sit on the kitchen floor and start whipping. Finally, when we had our eggnog, we ate it with great satisfaction. “Sometimes it takes time to get something good,” Mom said to us. She knew how to motivate us to stick with a time-consuming task.

In our spiritual life it is also a good thing to have patience and wait for the Lord’s timing. Jesus told his disciples that they should “wait for the gift my Father promised” — the Holy Spirit. My thoughts go also to Ecclesiastes 11:1 — “Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back” (NRSVUE). When we persevere with patience and faithfulness, we will see God’s provision at work in our lives.