Shortcuts Always Get A Man (or woman)!

My husband Doug always has a funny way of saying things or just being funny in general. One thing that he has always said to me and our kids is "Shortcuts always get a man" (I added the or woman). Meaning for instance you try to carry twenty grocery bags in the house at one time and about halfway there, half of the bags rip open and spill out everywhere - "Shortcuts always get a man". Or another example, you think you can put something together without following the directions to a T and you put it together wrong only to realize it after the fact and have to take it all back apart to do it right. My kids and I say it all of the time too every time we try to shortcut something and we fall short!

We live in a world where everything we want or need is readily available at our fingertips. We want what we want when we want it and we want it right now! We have gotten used to instant gratification and so have our kids. This becomes frustrating when things don't happen for us when we want them to. We always want to look for a shortcut to get what we want or where we want to go in life. However, these shortcuts aren't always going to take us where we want to be or give us what we want. I am sure we have all had someone tell us that anything worth having is worth waiting for. Patience, endurance and perseverance is what it takes to truly get what should be yours.

In my life there have been many times, I have wanted something and it didn't come easy, I had to really work to get it as quickly as possible and essentially force it to happen. In each of these instances, I ended up regretting that I had rushed into something and put myself in a bad situation personally or financially. There have been a few times in life where I have waited, been patient and things just fell into place. That was me allowing God to be in control of these things rather than me saying "Let me lead my life, God, you can come along for the ride"! I encourage you today to stop and think about the things in your life you have tried to rush to or through. Think about how things might have been different had you slowed down and took your time even if it involved extra steps or more time. Life is a marathon not a sprint, take time along the way and enjoy the ride. I love the song by the band Alabama "I'm in a Hurry and Don't Know Why". In the song it says "I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun, all I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why!".

"Patience leads to abundant understanding, but impatience leads to stupid mistakes" Proverbs 14:29