Let's make cake

I believe that a trusting attitude and a patient attitude go hand in hand. You see, when you let go and learn to trust God, it releases joy in your life. And when you trust God, you're able to be more patient. Patience is not just about waiting for something... it's about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting.  (Joyce Meyer)

So, how's your trust developing these days? According to what Joyce proposes to us, when we develop a deeper and deeper trust, our patience is also developed. I believe she is spot-on with that belief, for none of us actually learns patience when we don't have trust in something to occur because of where or what we put our trust into at that moment. We look to that object or person to be the thing to accomplish or allow something to happen. I don't open a box and find cake - I find cake mix. Add to that some eggs, oil, and a little water - mix thoroughly - and I still don't have cake, but I have batter. Pour that into a greased pan and I still don't have cake - it has to bake - and we all know how much patience is developed in the baking process! We can see it rising high in the pan, getting all the golden color added to the top, and then experience the majestic smell of all that flavor escaping from inside the oven. We still don't have cake - for it must complete the baking process, cool and then eventually, it is ready for us. But...way back at the grocery store, when I bought that mix, I trusted there would be cake! There was a process to getting cake - and all of those steps required me to trust the cake was coming. There are many things involved in us getting to the place of full trust in God, but when we do, we find ourselves being more and more assured (patient and content) that the things we desire will come to pass.

We all must learn what it is to let go and simply trust someone outside of ourselves - for although God dwells within us, there are just some things he wants to do without our intervention! He just wants us to lean in and experience all we can as we go from "the box" to "the plate" moments! No steps bypassed, no moments to experience his goodness ever overlooked. His purposes are sometimes outside of how or when we would have done things - because most of us would just buy the cake already made! There is something different about those cakes, though. They are made from much of the same ingredients. They are prepared in much the same manner, just in larger quantities. Yet, there is still something missing in these cakes. It might just be that the time of preparation is what we bypassed and this is what we miss the most, because our anticipation isn't stimulated or built in quite the same manner as when we get something immediately!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)

Sometimes patience is developed more in the movement of trust - the placing of our trust in someone other than ourselves. I know it takes a lot of patience to see someone other than myself do something, because I have a way of doing it, a time to do it, and it gets done. Someone else might very well be able to do it, but the timing may be different. The steps they take may be in a different order. Their vision of how it should be done may be slightly different, but the outcome is generally the same. What I learn is that when I put my trust in God, I see new ways of doing things, appreciate there are things I haven't considered, and learn that in just waiting on his path to be revealed, I see things differently and appreciate things from a new vantage point. Just sayin!

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