by: Topher Wiles
In September
1992, Alabama expressed well the sad sentiment of our culture when they sang
the song, "I'm in a Hurry (and I Don't Know Why)". It seems
like much of the world is enslaved to the impatient mantra of our times. On
top of our work calendars, sports schedules, and community services, we are so
busy in life that it puts us into an “I can’t wait” type of mindset that
affects our families in deep ways.
The
impatience has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic that even Jimmy Fallon has
created a hashtag of things people can’t wait to do when lockdowns are over: #FirstThingImGoingToDoWhenThisIsOver.
Here are a few reponses of things people
can’t wait to do as listed on Chron.com "I can’t wait to change out of my
pajamas." "Teepee my own house just because I have an
unnecessary abundance of toilet paper." "I'm going to give a
bear hug to all of my close friends!” I don’t know about TPing my own house,
but that bear hug sounds fun. Radio
Station 106.5 of Buffalo, NY shares more realist things people can’t wait to do
as: travel, see live music, hug, eat at a restaurant, go to a bar, get a
haircut, go camping, play sports with people, go to the gym, and get
married. https://wyrk.com/11-things-we-cant-wait-to-do-once-the-quarantine-is-over/
That last one really got my attention as I consider things that
our culture is in a hurry for and things worth waiting for. Marriage.
I did a little research into how the pandemic has affected marriage and
I saw that nearly every major news outlet predicts a baby boom in the coming
year as happens after every major catastrophe. Additionally, I learned there
are many, especially women, who feel pressured during the pandemic into sex
before marriage as attested to by Jessica Zucker, a Los Angeles psychologist
specializing in women’s reproductive health.
She encourages ladies especially in this time, don’t let yourself be
pressured into what you’re not ready for.
The marriage blog for Focus on the Family agrees with waiting as it says,
“In addition to the risk of
contracting STDs and AIDS or getting pregnant, premarital sex leads to
emotional distress, distrust, regret and emptiness.” In his podcasts about Financial Peace, Dave
Ramsey frequently mentions the benefits of waiting till marriage for sex, having
kids, and house buying for couples stating that waiting for marriage brings
about much more financial freedom.
While our world may say the words “I
can’t wait,” especially during the pandemic, we simply want to say, “Yes you
can wait, and marriage is certainly worth waiting for.
Ashley and I have
been taught a few things about waiting from those who are wiser than us. We
even took the challenge and agreed to NOT kiss on the lips till the day we
said, "I do." I can attest, that was an amazing and memorable
first kiss! We believe there are blessings that come from waiting; not
knowing everything immediately, not having sex before marriage, not peeking at
Christmas presents, not purchasing a car until you can pay for it in cash, not
knowing if your baby is a boy or a girl, not indulging in many other instant
gratifications. From my perspective, things are more enjoyable when you
let the anticipation build for that big surprise, waiting till you can buy the
car outright and have no loan, and when you wait to start a family until you
are married. You may call us old fashioned, and maybe we are out of
touch with the times about car loans and kisses, but at least on some family
topics we aren’t alone as we affirm that with many things in life, it is better
to wait.
Patience is such an
integral part of the Christian life. Maybe
God purposefully chose to make us wait for Heaven and has only given us a
limited description so that the surprise isn’t ruined. Yeah, people will
play with our impatience and write many fake stories about heaven like Alex
Malarkey's book, "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven." (He
admitted years later it was all a farce.)
Yet David says that waiting is a must to enjoy that blessed land of the living.
"I believe that I shall look
upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be
strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" - Psalm
27:13-14
So we urge you, if
you really want to wait, you can! Don't rush into everything. Don't
be anxious to know everything. Don't believe you have to peek. You
have a choice. Good things really do come to those who wait, especially
when waiting on the Lord!
"But they who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they
shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31
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