I have decided I’d like to be the female version of this guy…and this guy…and these guys. Seriously, mix all four of them together, do a quick Y-to-X chromosome replacement and viola, pretty sure that’s who I’d like to be.
Because they’re c-r-a-z-y funny.
(Moment of sheer honesty: I actually know nothing about these guys in real life. For all I know, they might have caveman manners or prefer rodents for pets – neither of which settle all that well with me. But because I’m somewhat of an idealist – and because I think it’s nice to give people the benefit of the doubt – I’m going to assume they’re as cool in person as they are online.)
So of the four of these funnymen (huh, that’s actually a word), Jon Acuff has rocked my “I’m a fan list” the longest. Stuff Christians Like is on my “must read every day and especially on crappy days” list. (Yes, apparently I have a lot of lists.) I read his book Gazelles… in one day…And trust me, it’s funny even if you haven’t ever cracked open a Dave Ramsey book or attended Financial Peace University
So, now I’m reading Acuff’s latest book, Quitter…and loving it. All the hilarity you’d expect from the genius behind SCL is there, plus honest-to-goodness…wisdom. Yep, and from a guy who, if I’ve got my facts right, is in his mid-30s.
Wisdom. I want a piece of that. Seriously, I do. I want the real thing – the kind I see in my parents, some of my amazing writing friends, in the pages of Quitter.
And I’m thinking if it’s possible for the author of Quitter to be so wise by the time he’s 35, maybe that’s a goal I can set for myself, too. Which gives me about five and one-thirds years to pull a Solomon. Doable, yeah?
What, you say? Doesn’t work that way?
Just like deciding I want a book contract by the end of the year doesn’t work?
Or planning on a husband, kids, house and so-SUVish-it’s-almost-cool minivan by age whatever?
Or doing what I love fulltime by such-and-such a date?
Not fair because I like to accomplish things and I like to accomplish them when I want to accomplish them…i.e. on time. My time.
(Yeah, so earlier this week when I noted my Type AB personality? This would be my Type A side showing up. In full force. Probably wearing a cape.)
Well, so, ever had those days or weeks where God sort of hits you over the head with something? I’m talking figuratively, but I wouldn’t rule out physically either. (For real, remember the talking donkey? the burning bush? He has a way of getting his point across.)
In the past few weeks, I’ve come across these verses in about a dozen places…in my own devotions, friends’ facebook posts and blogs, in a magazine…
Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” ~Habakkuk 2:2-3
There are some words a person just doesn’t love. And by a person, I mean me. And by some words I mean this word: Slow.
And yet, “slow” isn’t quite so bad when it’s followed by “surely” and “not be delayed.”
Of course, we have to consider the context of these verses. God is speaking about a specific vision. However, the God talking in these verses is the same God who has a plan for each of our lives. And the same God who promised to fulfill the vision He gave to Habakkuk is the same God who promises all over the Bible to finish what He’s started in each of us.
The things God has for us – whether we’re talking wisdom, maturity, big dreams or small – they’re going to happen. And they’re going to happen when He wants them to happen. Not too early. Definitely not too late.