The Longest Wait

The Longest Wait

By Hannah Jobe, Class of 2014

Greensboro, North Carolina

And meanwhile, we have new heavens and a new earth to look forward to, the dwelling place of Holiness; that is what He has promised. 2 Peter 3:13

            This year for New Years, my family and I went to Disney world. Because it was a major holiday, the park was jam packed. No ride had less than a thirty minute wait, and most were over an hour. There was one ride in particular that I had anticipated for ages. But the wait was absolutely horrendous; it was one of the longest waits in the park. We weren’t even sure if it would actually be worth it to spend our time waiting in a line for a ride that might not even live up to our expectations. After much debate, we decided to go on it anyway.

            While I was in line for this ride I started to think.  God has promised us that He has a place made for us, a home with Him in heaven. But we often get discouraged, because we don’t know when He is coming; we don’t know how long it’s going to take. Sometimes it doesn’t even seem like it’s worth it to keep following Him and waiting for him to come. What if His coming doesn’t end up being what we expected it to be? What if it turns out to be, like many things in this world: a huge disappointment?

            Finally after what seemed like forever, we got to where the ride was, and in the end, not only did it meet my expectations, it completely exceeded them. It even ended up being one of my favorite things about our entire trip.  The wait for heaven is a lot like the wait for that theme park ride. Even though we don’t know how long it’s going to take; even though it may seem like we would be better off spending our time doing other things, if we trust God and stay faithful to Him, the reward that we are going to receive will exceed everything we’ve ever dreamed of or hoped for.