As I write this post, my refrigerator (a very essential part of our home) has been broken for two weeks plus 8 hours of service repair and it is yet to be fixed. Little did I realize the value of this simple convenience to our everyday lives. It has given me much angst along with all the other “yets” in my life. This pandemic is not yet over. Thankfully, no one in my immediate family has gotten the virus yet. My kids are not back in school yet. My normal is not back to normal yet…. And the list goes on for us all. Yet how I see my “yets” determines my response.
Patient YET
I have been picking my gladiolus early because a little bunny has confused them for his food. As the stems only have mini buds on them, they have yet to fully bloom. I wait in sheer amazement as those tiny buds produce the most elegant flowers. The value in the wait is seeing nature take its course. Waiting for nature to bear fruit can be tiresome, yet God makes everything beautiful in His timing. The power in this yet is waiting patiently to see the fruit.
Impatient YET
I also picked some of my tomatoes green because another little creature was trying to eat them. I thought I would try to pick them early and allow them to ripen on my counter. Timing is everything in the yet. After waiting well over a week for my green tomatoes to ripen, I have yet to see any color change. This will be my next quarantine cooking project, learning how to make fried green tomatoes. The yet may not always lead to the best results, especially when I try to take control.
Acceptance YET
This brings me to the final power in the YET. The power in accepting with joy the present situation and giving it into the Lord’s strong hands. Easier said than done I know. The prophet Habakkuk shared these beautiful poetic prayers to help me find the satisfied YET perspective. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen, and no cattle in the stalls, YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. (Habakkuk 3:17-19). I am challenged to make this my prayer and rise with the power of YET – everything is in God’s hands, including all my “yets.”
Power of YET
Patient. Impatient. Acceptance.
What have I yet to see happen that I need to give to God?