Waiting

It felt like forever before it was Daisy's turn to ride the swinging ship. She watched the line slowly move forward each time a new group got on the ride. Finally, it was her turn!

"Ready?" Dad grinned.

"More than ready!" Daisy hurried to find a seat.

The ride was just as fun as she expected, and she screamed each time it went down. Her stomach flip-flopped a little, but she still loved it.

"Can we go again?" Daisy asked as soon as they were finished.

Dad pointed toward the line. "It's still long."

"I don't mind," Daisy said. Now that she knew how fun the ride was, she could wait forever.

"You're sure you wouldn't rather ride something else?" Dad asked, pointing toward a shorter line. Daisy quickly shook her head. Dad smiled and led her to the end of the long line. "Some things are worth waiting for, huh?"

"Yeah," Daisy said.

Dad put his hand on her shoulder. "As you get older, you'll realize other things are worth waiting for too. Sometimes we have to be patient to get something good."

"Like a ride on a swinging ship?" Daisy asked.

"And things even better than that," Dad said as they slowly moved forward in line. "God has good plans for you, Daisy. He loves you so much He sent Jesus to save you from sin and give you eternal life! You can trust Him to bring good things into your life at the right time. Be patient as you wait for Him to show you what they are."

"What kind of things?" asked Daisy.

"Well, for example, it took a while for me to figure out God was calling me to be a pastor. Waiting for Him to lead me where He wanted me to go wasn't easy, but it helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus." Dad smiled. "You can trust God to lead you in what's best for your life too."

Daisy nodded. The line didn't seem so bad when her dad was talking, and she knew how much fun she was going to have at the end. She was glad she could trust God to help her be patient and wait for the good things He had planned for her too.

–Bethany Acker