In the 1970’s Heinz came out with series of commercials illustrating how slow their ketchup flowed from the bottle. Point being that their ketchup was thicker and richer than the other brands on the shelf. To reinforce their brand, “Anticipation, you’re making me wait” was their theme song, along with a tagline that read, “Taste that’s worth the wait!”
While watching an episode of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, I learned from a young age how centrifugal force was my ally when it came to dressing my dog and fries. One long swoop of the bottle and it was putty in my hands. Well, more like ketchup on my plate, but you get the idea…
Kids nowadays don’t know how easy they have it with plastic squeeze bottles and condiment pumps, but while they have it easy, they’re missing out on simple lessons learned through patience.
Fast food, fast cars, fast money, and fast access to pain relief have left us weak and void of muscle tone when it comes to flexing the muscle of patience. We must exercise patience daily in order to increase in strength.
Dictionary.com defines patience this way, “Bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.” That includes nagging of course.
Can you see how this would be an asset to any marriage? In a perfect marriage we’d see two people living in harmony without complaint. There’d be no sign of irritation or annoyance, and tempers would be under control at all times.
But we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? We live in a world of anticipation that’s making us wait. We live in a messy world where the abundance of an angry heart spouts forth more times than we’d like. We say and do things that pierce each other deeply.
We’d all love it if our spouse had the patience of Job, and if we could experience instant and perpetual bliss (yeah, I’m feeling a little ‘Faith Hill” today). That would be easy, but instead of seeking a shortcut in hopes that my spouse will change, I challenge myself to focus inward and exercise that patience myself.
When I take my eyes off of Michael’s failures and turn them toward God, where I learn perfect patience, I allow Him to work through me. And why wouldn’t I? God can do so much more than I ever could on my own. His wisdom is so far beyond mine that I’m constantly surprised by His wondrous ways.
It’s just a matter of teaching myself to relax, pray, and wait on the Lord. In other words I give up my wants and my desires to be shaped by His will.
We might not understand the momentum once we step onto the Potter’s wheel, but centrifugal force is our ally when we’re clay in His hands.
It takes time to build a relationship as we practice being both patient and waiting on God, but some things– like marriage and Ketchup, they’re both worth the wait!
The first lesson to be learned and practiced is loving patience. It requires some time to bring any two lives into perfect unison so that they shall blend in every chord and tone. – J.R. Miller
You are loved by an almighty God,
