Waiting, Part 3

N- n- now th- that don't kill me
Can only make me stronger
I need you to hurry up now
'cause I can't wait much longer

"Stronger" Kanye West

When I was around 11 or 12 years old I remember calling the local radio station to make a song request. The DJ answered the phone and I told him what song I wanted him to play. "No problem, " he said. I hung up and sat by my radio eager (yes, even anticipating) to hear the song. I waited, and waited, and waited. Minutes, hours, days passed by and still I did not hear the song. OK, maybe it was just minutes that passed by, but it sure felt like days. After 45 minutes I called back. It is amazing how indignant a pre-teen can be on the phone. "Where is my song," I demanded, sure that my righteous anger would help the DJ see the error of his ways. It was at this moment that I learned two important life lessons: radio DJ's lie, and they can have a tendency to hang up on angry callers.

There may be some of you wondering why this was such a big deal (and why after 30 years I am still talking about it). This event happened before the advent of Itunes and digital music. Yes, you could buy music at the record store, but only if they had it in stock...and you had money. New music came to us via the radio. We heard what the radio station wanted us to hear when they wanted us to hear it. MTV, even when they actually played music videos, was no different.

Now, thanks be to God, the world is different. If I want a song I can download it. Well, sort of. Seems like the Beatles are still bigger than Jesus because downloading their music, legally, is a bit of a problem. However, I have access to almost all the music I want. It does not even have to be produced by a major record label and some artists will even give their songs away. For free! I like free, it is our friend. I also like bands who give away free music. They are our friends as well, even if their music is not very good.

There is a key concept at work here: control. Many consumers, myself included, want control over our lives. I don't like someone telling me when and if I can listen to a song or watch a video or view a movie. I want what I want when I want it. Provided, of course, that I have the money to pay for it. Which takes us back to our dear, dear friend, Mr. Free.

The other day I was in a grocery store and noticed that they were not open 24 hours a day. It shocked me. What if I needed a Twinkie at 2am, what would I do? Wait till the store opened? Absolutely not! I would go to the store that had the good sense to be open at 2am and have Twinkies in stock. It does not matter that I never want a Twinkie at 2am, it's just the idea that this store is telling me I have to wait that bothers me. Its and on-demand world and I am an on-demand girl...er, boy.

So, I am left to wonder if part of my problem with waiting on God has to do with my 21st century consumer mentality. Do I view God as a vendor of goods and services, sort of like a bigger version of Amazon? (did you know that Amazon gives away free music? Over 500 songs. This makes them our special friend!) If I want God then God should be available, ready to deal with whatever issue is on my heart or mind. In short, I want control over my relationship with God. And that, my friends, is the problem. To be a follower of Jesus means that rather than trying to control God I surrender myself to God. When God calls, I answer. When God says move, I go. And if, gasp, God says wait, then I wait, as hard as that may be.

I still believe that God is capable of moving and communicating at speeds that our ancestors never dreamed of. I am convinced that God is active in the world all the time, I only need to look beyond myself to see it. And I think waiting bites! But my desire is to follow Jesus and to serve God. If that means there will be times when I have to wait then I will suck it up and wait. At least I have free music to help me pass the time!

Waiting, Part 2

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'

"Anticipation" Carly Simon

Way back in the 1970s, Heinz ran a commercial for their ketchup (sorry, the original is not on Youtube. I know, I was also shocked and dismayed) in which it takes almost 30 seconds for the ketchup to leave the bottle and pour out on a hamburger. The point of the commercial was to show that Heinz 57 was not some watered down tomato product but a thick, wholesome ketchup. The good folks at Heinz paid to use singer/songwriter Carly Simon's popular song "Anticipation" in the ad. The waiting, the anticipation of what that burger will taste like smothered in Heinz ketchup, is part of the fun of eating. Or at least that is what the people who produced slow pouring ketchup wanted us to believe back in the day.

Anticipation is supposed to increase our desire and appreciation of a particular event of experience. The logic goes something like this: if we get what we want whenever we want it, then it loses its significance in our lives. But if we have to wait for it (and "it" can be a football game or a date or the birth of a child) then it takes on added value. This way of thinking helped produce the old adage "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and the use of cliffhanger ending to movies and television shows.

I'm not convinced. I routinely have to wait to see my doctor even though I have an appointment. When I finally get back in the examining room I get to wait some more. Does the anticipation of finally seeing the medical professional I was supposed to meet with thirty minutes ago make me value our time together? No. It makes me ticked off, late for my other appointments and on an endless quest to find a doctor who can keep time!

Do I love my children or wife less because I see them everyday? No. In fact I think our relationship is stronger for all the time we spend together. Do I love food less because I eat every day (a look at my waistline will answer that question for you)? Star Wars is still one of my favorite movies even though I can watch it whenever I wish. Granted, having Christmas every month might get a bit old. There are somethings that we want to be "special" occasions and anticipation plays a useful role in making that happen. But not everything. Not God.

God is at work in the world. Right now. The question is whether I can see it or not. Anticipation is my waiting to see what I want to see; God acting the way I want God to act. Faith is seeing what God is already doing. I can wait a long time for God to do what I want. To catch a glimpse of what God is actively involved in at the moment takes no waiting at all. It does, however, require me to change. More tomorrow.

Waiting, Part 1

The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you get one more yard

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

The waiting is the hardest part

"The Waiting" Tom Petty

The other night I was looking through our DVD's for something to watch and I noticed the gleaming silver tin that contains eight, yes eight Christmas classics. Or at least the box says that all eight are classics. There are a couple that look like fill to me, but the point is its June and I can, if I wish, watch "Frosty the Snowman" or "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." No big deal, right? My kids don't think so. But it is. Oh, this is huge.

Back in December I was having a conversation with a twenty- something Kindergarten teacher. She had just popped in a copy of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" for the children to watch (the animated version, mind you). In hushed tones we started talking and I mentioned that when I was a kid "The Grinch" and all those other Christmas shows came on once a year (I know, I felt like an old man just uttering the words "when I was a kid"). One time my Dad made us go to a family party and we missed "Rudolph." My siblings and I were devastated. It would be a whole year before we could see it again. But now, now I can watch it whenever I want. I don't have to wait, and neither do my children. This, dear reader, is earth shattering.

We live in an almost instant culture. My email get pushed to my phone so I don't have to wait. So do my Facebook messages and posts. I am connected to the Internet 24/7 (except at camp, which has, on a really good day, poor service). We have movies on demand, all sorts of quick to prepare food and "fast" food restaurants. We wait on very little. Which makes those times when we have to wait very difficult.

For ninety-nine percent of human history this has not been the case. Things happened at a much slower pace. Travel and communication took days and weeks. If food was not in season you had to wait. Waiting, while not easy, was a big part of life. And this spilled over into how people understood God. Waiting on God, while not easy, was also part of life. I was taught this as a child and keep hearing about it as an adult. "God's time is not our time." Jesus hung out in the desert for forty days waiting on God. The Israelites roamed around forty years before entering the promised land. Wait upon the Lord.

Why? Why do I have to wait? I call or text or email anyone, anytime I want. Why do I have to wait to talk to God?

This is, I think, a very important question for our age. Is the idea that we have to wait on God simply a product of a time and place in which people had to wait for everything? Does our understand of God need to change? Is it possible that God can and does communicate and act as fast as our technology? In short, are we done waiting on God?

Ponder this a bit, if you will. I will write more tomorrow (yes, I know, so ironic that I make you wait). In the meantime, if you wish, feel free to share your thoughts below. No rush. I'll wait.