Are We There Yet?

All of us, as kids, at one time or another has spoken those favourite 4 words "Are We There Yet?". Sometimes, we are able to resist until a few hours into the trip, other times mere minute pass before we have to utter the phrase, but someone always managed to say it sometime before the destination was reached. Our parents would always try to dsitract us, and keep us from noticing that the trip is taking longer than planned. Even trips to the grocery store would need activity planning. But no matter how much thought went into the trip activities, no matter how many games were brought, the phrase would be said. Sooner or later the game boy games would be finished, the colour books would have lost their appeal, the sibling crossed the invisible line on the seat, every possible I Spy and 20 Questions outcome has been reached, and one child, usually the youngest (right mom?) would utter "Are we there yet?".

Thankfully we grow out of this. It's amazing how, when we get older, we are able to enjoy long trips. We don't need game boys, movies, or car games to entertain us (yet, we still play them just because we can). We enjoy the ride, enjoy the scenery and wait for the final destination, no matter how long it takes. Unfortunately, we haven't really outgrown this cry of impatience in the ride of life.

We all know the phrase, "Be patient, God isn't finished with me yet", and yet we all seem to want to refuse to believe that. We want God to be finished with us. Not in life, but in teaching us lessons and putting us through the growing pains and trials of life. We pray for something, and before we say amen we are thinking "Is it here yet!", "are we there yet?". God is teaching us to be patient, and we have to constantly ask "Are you done yet?" We hate waiting. We want to get to the end already. We don't like the drive, when it comes to God teaching us, evolving us and causing us to grow and mature.

Did you ever realize that, until you asked the "Are we there yet quesiton" the ride went quick...but once that was asked, the ride went painfully slow? The ride would go from enjoyable, to "Horrendous Hell-ride in a Honda" in seconds. Everything became worse. Siblings were more irritating, bumps were bigger, seat was harder, bladder was smaller...it becomes nearly unbearable. Same is true in the character building sense. At first, we almost dont notice that God is working on us. We forget that God is teaching us patience, or putting us through a tough time, and then we ask "God, are you done yet?", "Have I learned my lesson?"...and then time slows to even more of a halt. The trials we are going through are harder, the days are longer, the pains hurt more, and God's chisel cuts away smaller and smaller pieces. Maybe God plans it like that. Or maybe, we bring it upon ourselves.

The bottom line is, we can either sit back, enjoy the ride, watch the scenery go by and reach our final destination before we know it, or we can ask "Are we there yet?", and spend an eternity driving down the winding roads of life, taking wrong turns, and getting caught behind seniors driving 40 in a 100. Either way, God will take us to the destination. We will get where we are going, but the question is, will we be patient enough to enjoy the ride to get there? Sometimes the ride isn't enjoyable. Sometimes we have to drive through some pretty ugly things to get to the end. Sometimes, we blow a tire and God requires us to get out, in the pouring rain and change it. But the destination is always worth it. Just like as a kid, that final destination always made the drive worth it. Whether it was Grandma's house, or Home...we always quickly forgot about the long strenuous ride to get there.

Where God is taking us will be worth it. Maybe each stop along the way isn't as comfortable or beautiful as we would like, but when God is finished with us, it will be worth it. Let's stop being impatient. Let's stop asking God if we have finally arrived. Let's just sit back (figuratively speaking of course, because when God works on us, it requires us to work as well), and enjoy the ride, and think about where God is taking us...wherever that may be!