Is it your turn?

Just recently I was having a conversation with a close friend. In our conversation we talked about all the hard work, tears and sweat we have put in trying to accomplish some things. We have been doing this day in and day out; year in and year out. Neither of us can truthfully say that we have not seen some real wins along the way, but we are yet looking for “the big win”. The conversation floated in many different directions, but they all seemed to have come back to the same place where we both wondered: when is it going to be our turn?

As children we played games that required a sequence to be followed in order for the game to flow properly and fairly for each person contending for the win. The important lesson that needed to be learned in the process is that if you moved out of turn then someone else does not get their fair chance at winning. Of course, immaturity caused us to want to make a move when we saw our own best opportunity regardless of the timing. Did this mentality go away as we became adults?

One would like to think that as individuals move from childhood to adulthood that they would put aside their childish ways as mentioned in I Corinthians 13:11. The reality of truth that must set in for many adults is that in some areas of our lives we have not put away childish thoughts and behaviors. We have become a society filled with people that operate with a sense of entitlement; yes, in some ways that includes both me and you! I am not alluding to the idea that you should not want what you want however I am stating a fact that we should be careful as to not gain the things we want prematurely or at the detrimental expense of others.

One of the pressures that cause this maladaptive behavior to appear is when we lose our patience and our focus. We have the bad habit of looking around to see what others may have accomplished and we feel that we are as deserving if not more deserving than they are to have what they have. In everything that happens there is a process; one missed step will yield a disaster. We ask ourselves, our friends and family and even God, when is it going to be my turn? We burden ourselves with internally rehearsed answers, our friends and family often provide answers of comfort for the moment and oh yeah, well the Lord just has not said anything to us at all in the ways that we want. There are so many lessons to be learned in the process, are you learning or are you simply looking for “your turn”? Take some time to learn. Take some time to focus during the process. Take some time to enjoy the process because when it is your turn that will be another level of investment involved. When it is finally your turn the excitement will soon pass, and you will repeat the cycle of wondering when it is going to be your turn again! I offer a word of advice to you and myself; when it is really your turn, then and only then will it really be your time! Arriving at that place in the right time and season will allow us to truly enjoy and appreciate the process it took to get there. Be patient, be faithful, and be encouraged for your turn and your time are coming!