Delayed Gratification

40 days… 40 days without brownies, without cake, without chocolate chip cookies, and without ice cream. For those of you who know me, you’re probably thinking “HOW DID SHE DO IT?!” By the grace of God, my friends. This might sound like a joke, but God used this experience to teach me a lesson.

When I first made the commitment not to partake of the sugary goodness, I was fully committed! The second I walked away however, I was immediately confronted with the temptation: a gooey chocolate chip cookie.  EVERYDAY since then, I have had to verbally say “No” to a cookie someone offered, or even to just a thought of the wonderful frostiness of ice cream. It was a rough 40 days.

Temptation was everywhere. Cravings, TV commercials, invites from friends to join them for ice cream, I even had dreams about it. It was ridiculous y’all! More than once I had to turn my face and say a prayer that I wouldn’t fall into temptation and I even had my roommates keep me accountable! Right from the start, I knew I had to keep my eyes on the prize.
 

People asked me, “Why are you doing this?” To which I replied, “I love Jesus more than ice cream, cookies, cake, and brownies. So during the time when I think about eating any of those I spend time seeking God’s face and His will.” It forced me to make a conscience decision about what I put in my mouth and in my heart. It also taught me what “delayed gratification” means.

Our American culture is consumed by instant gratification. I want this and I want it NOW. Fast food, instant internet access, even online dating sites which finds you a date instantly! With delayed gratification, you are not instantly gratifying your desires. You have to wait patiently and expectantly as the anxiety builds until you get what you have been craving all along (Like cookie dough ice cream). And I might have just drooled on my keyboard… The entire time I was waiting, I kept telling myself, “It is going to be worth it.” And was it ever!

On Sunday, day 40, my lovely parents took me to my favorite place: Dairy Queen. The smell, the cool air from inside, the pictures of blizzards everywhere, and now I had a choice to make. What do I want? It was overwhelming, because I wanted all of them. I settled on a Peanut Butter cookie dough blizzard. We took our order number and patiently sat down. The anxiety was taking over, I was so excited and I just couldn’t hide it. I may or may not have had a small anxiety attack at the table… I jumped up and stood by the counter waiting for her to call our order. She was wiping of the ice cream that had missed the inside of the cup, and I was so impatient I almost reached for it before she was done. I walked back over to our table, staring at the cup with the angelic white cream and sat down. My family is sitting there watch me as I take my first bite. I also may or may not have shed a tear. My mom looked at me with a grin and asked, “Was it worth the wait?” I smiled back, the biggest smile I could manage, and said “Oh, YES!”

Many times in my life recently, I have been asked the same question, “Is it worth the wait?” Is it worth waiting to start my career so I can go to college? Is it worth waiting for my boyfriend/ husband instead of saying yes to everyone that comes along? Is it worth waiting on God’s timing instead of taking my future in my own hands?

I can firmly say, IT IS WORTH THE WAIT. I also feel like the longer I wait for what God has for me, the better it gets because I am focusing on what God has for me right here, right now.
So what are YOU willing to wait for?