We live in an instantaneous society. In general, we don’t wait well. We eat microwave meals, have drive-thru weddings, ‘talk’ via Twitter and do our banking online. Speed limits? HA! If we could, we would command the earth to rotate at our speed. We want what we want, and we want it NOW! And those of us in blending families want our children and our spouse to get along fabulously THIS INSTANT!

And yet, throughout the Bible, God’s people are continually reminded to “Wait for the Lord. Be strong, take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14) God has always come through for His people, when the time was right. But human beings are notoriously impatient. The Israelites whined. The prophets lamented. Even David (a man after God’s own heart) wailed, “How long must I wait, oh Lord?” (Psalm 13) I don’t know how many people in blended families have written to me asking, “When does this get fun? When can we expect to blend? When will everyone get along?”

We need to remember that God’s timing may not be the same as our timing. Just because we got married, doesn’t mean that everyone in our new family will love each other, right this moment. God may be orchestrating emotional ties behind the scenes - and sometimes that can take a while. God may be trying to more fully prepare our family for what He has in store, or maybe we need to learn to love one another as ourselves. In the meantime, we must wait - patiently and prayerfully – and love each and every member of our family. Love is a choice. Love is also a VERB. It’s something you DO; it’s not something you just feel.                              

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you.” (2 Pet 3:8-9a)