“Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life.”
-John F. Kennedy
We went on a little family outing tonight to get a birthday present for my son. My daughter had saved up some money, so she excitedly grabbed her little purse, her heart set on a My Little Pony toy. We headed to the toy department and were thrilled when we saw a bunch of the toy she wanted in the clearance section. Come to find out, they weren't on sale at all, in fact, they were $10 over her budget. Instead of just giving in and buying it for her, we thought it might be a good learning experience. So we told her that she was just a little bit short, but encouraged her to not buy something just for the sake of buying something; instead save the money and wait until she had the full amount and we would come back and get it.
What she didn't know is that Daddy had a plan to give her the rest of the money after her responsibility chart was completed for the week. But she didn't want to wait and instead picked out a different toy. Knowing what I knew, I tried so hard to convince her to wait. I even asked her, "If you could have any toy in the whole store, what would you get?" She said, "The My Little Pony toy." I tried to reason, plead, hint...all to no avail. She walked out of the store, not with what she really wanted the most, but a suitable replacement. As we were leaving, my husband turned to me and said, "My heart is broken."
He wanted to give her the desires of her heart.
How many times have we settled for something? I'm not just simply talking about something horribly bad, but even those things that are "suitable replacements". We have our hearts set on something, but perhaps God's timing isn't right. He hasn't given you a "no" answer, but a "wait" or "not right now". However, in our own impatience and desire to get what we want when we want it, we settle for second best.
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"
-Matthew 7:11 (NASB)
My husband and I wanted to give our little girl the desires of her heart in the worst way. It took all my self-control to not run back in the store and buy her that darn toy. But it would deprive her of a growing and teaching experience. In the same way, I believe that God wants to bless us with the desires of our hearts. He wants to give us good things. But even more, He wants what is best for us, and sometimes God's timing doesn't line up with our "want it now" attitude. Instead of waiting for what she truly wanted, my daughter wanted to take the easy route and go with what was right in front of her...the tangible. When in reality, she was less than a week away from getting the desires of her heart.
Don't mistake God's "not right now" with God's "no". Trust in God's timing and see the lessons He is wanting you to learn during the waiting season. Don't give up and settle for second best just because you can't have what you want when you want it. You never know...you may be less than a week away from the desires of your heart.
