CAR WASH OR NEW GARAGE???

I am in a fly mood today and the reason is not farfetched; holiday tomorrow! Yeah, I totally love my job but I love my house too. So last night, it felt like a Thursday and I just wanted to get home in good time.  Then I hit the road and it looked like everybody in Lagos wanted just the same thing I wanted. The traffic was not of this world. Then mercy found me and the colleague that gave me a ride decided to boycott 3rd mainland to pass Carter Bridge. That was a life changing decision. Before I knew it, we were on Ikorodu road, and whew, I was in Anthony, faster than I could have imagined. That reawakened my dream to get home early.

However, at the bus-stop, there was a ton of people and too few buses. Before one could even hear what the bus conductor was saying, the bus would have filled up and zoomed off. I stood there and watched my dream to get home early fizzle away with every bus that drove off. Then it hit me, why wait for new garage bus when I can board any other bus, get off at car wash and still get home. Wow, I do not even have to hear what the conductor is saying; any bus on this road is either going to new garage or passing through car wash to get to where-ever.

Less than five minutes later, I was comfortably sited in a bus, one of the other buses that were bound to go through car wash. I was just about done congratulating myself on such a smart decision when the bus stopped. Ehn, what’s that? Traffic, wow! I looked to my right- the New Garage route and it was free! I felt terrible; I was not so smart after all. So I couldn’t wait at the bus stop for a New garage bus, I could definitely wait now, and maybe even longer than I would have waited, in my traffic delayed car-wash bus. Like you already guessed, I didn’t quite get home early.

But I got home thinking. About life; and its propensity to make humans wait. We say we can’t wait to do a lot of things, yet we wait. I couldn’t wait for a new garage bus because I couldn’t wait to get home, yet I had to wait in my car-wash bus. You can’t wait to grow up, she can’t wait to finish that course, he can’t wait to get the promotion, they can’t wait to move house, I can’t wait to fall in love, and maybe you can’t wait to fall out of love. He can’t, she can’t, you can’t, I can’t, we all can’t wait, but wait we must.

Before you conclude, I am not about to tell you about the benefits of waiting or how waiting is good and all that even though I do agree that waiting is beneficial. I am just thinking, when does waiting become wasting time?  What is actually worth waiting for and what is not? Have you ever thought you couldn’t wait for something only to wonder why you were in such a rush when it finally arrives? You then most likely conclude that such a thing was over rated and wasn’t worth the wait. I also bet you have at some point hurried through certain things and gotten quick results only to wish you had waited. So what is worth waiting for?

I don’t know if I know the answer to that question. They say sex in the confines of marriage is worth waiting for and I tend to agree. They say the joy of having children is worth waiting for; I am hoping it is true. Every month end, I am convinced my university degree was worth the wait. Sometimes, after I have spent hours in a salon and I inspect the result, I am certain the time wasn’t wasted. At other times, I have persevered through a book or movie only to be sorely disappointed at the end, such a waste of time! There are a couple of things I am waiting for right now that had better be worth the wait. I know God’s promises are sure and worth waiting for, so I rejoice in them.

Many times, we do not even wait for something, we wait through it. Like the young bride who has to live the first three years of her marriage with her in-laws while her husband completes his PHD degree in the UK. Like the pregnant woman, who is tired of her constant nausea, but has no choice in the matter. Like the teenager who has to live with his uncle’s wife’s nagging if he is to get a good education. We all have to wait through situations. Waiting is easier when one can keep the expectation in sight. When the period is timed and we can keep track of progress, it makes waiting not so bad. Joyce Meyer said patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting, I think she is right. If we have to wait, since we have to wait, why don’t we just wait well and try our best to enjoy the wait. Eventually, I surmise that waiting is best when you are waiting for something worth waiting for. So, what are you waiting for?

Right now, I am just grateful you waited through this article with me and I hope it was worth the wait.