"Wine-ing" about Waiting
Last August, our pastor announced that the peach trees at his parsonage had yielded a bumper crop, and he had free buckets of peaches available. I got it in my head to use some of the abundant fruit to try my hand at making wine. What could be more wholesome? I received a cooler full of peaches and went to work researching home wine-making.
Many pounds of sugar and peach pits later, I had a glass gallon jug full of pulpy, yeasty froth that I happily capped and placed in the corner of our garage. I knew it would take a couple of months before there would be any drinkable results, but it gave me great joy to see that jug bubbling away as the yeast ate the sugar and turned it into alcohol. I was happily dreaming of the crisp, fruity wine I was making all on my own.
Fast forward to March, and it was finally time to bottle my very first batch of wine. I excitedly uncorked the gallon, sampled a small sip … and gagged. Instead of the peach champagne I was hoping for, I instead had made a liquid that both smelled and tasted like nail polish remover.
This haphazard first winemaking experience made me think about the old adage “good things take time.” This is probably true, but we live in an immediate culture that definitely doesn’t want to take their time waiting for good things. We want fast food, fast results when working out, and a fast internet connection. I don’t know about you, but I find it crazy how quickly my blood begins to boil when I have to wait in traffic or in a grocery store checkout line. I have very little tolerance for “good things that take time.”
In our spiritual lives, the same is true - we want God’s plans to work out promptly and predictably. We want our lives to be fulfilling and happy, but not in some far-off future - we want what we want and we want it now. It’s so hard to wait on God’s timing instead of our own!
Throughout all seasons of my life, my favorite Old Testament story has been the account of Joseph (found in Genesis 37-50). His example of patient trust in God when faced with unearned hardship is always a balm to my impatient soul that doesn’t want to wait for God’s good plans to take shape. It’s such a comfort to see that God had a long arc for Joseph’s life, and that even when Joseph couldn’t understand why he was a slave or in jail, God was with him. And even better - God used those hardships to create exponential good for others!
Maybe God also has a really long arc for your life that will take decades to play out. Maybe you’ll never get to see the ways God is using problems for your good or the good of others. We like to trust in our own plans, but more often than not, the course we mark out for ourselves ends up stinking as bad as my first batch of wine. God never promises that life as a follower of Christ will be easy, and he never promises that all our earthly plans will succeed. But …
God does promise that he will be with us, always, even in our darkest struggles:
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:9-10
God does promise that we have been saved from our biggest problem, sin:
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5
God does promise that he has a home waiting for us in heaven:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
We don’t like sitting in discomfort. We don’t like trusting in God’s plans over ours. However, there’s joy to be found while waiting on God’s timing. The eternal God of the universe loves us enough to use us in his plans to further his kingdom. The same Creator who made chocolate and laughter and sunsets and, yes, even the sweetest peach wine, died on the cross and rose again to take away our sins. The Author of Life knew us before we were born and is ready to welcome us with open arms in heaven someday. We are safe in his timelines. We are loved by the King.
We might “wine” about waiting, and God’s good plans might take time, but take heart, sister! Rest in God’s love and shout with the Psalmist, “But I trust in you, LORD; I say ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands.” Psalm 31:14-15a