“Wait a Minute”

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” -- Philippians 4:6

There is  a vining bush that grows in SE Asia that the soldiers that “raised” me called a “wait-a-minute” vine. 

When Aussie or U.S. troops were making their way thru the jungles and fields, these tough little thorny vines would “get their hooks” into their uniforms, and they’d call out to their buddies “wait a minute”, while they carefully unhooked and untangled themselves from the pernicious pest. 

At least, the wise troops would “wait a minute” to carefully clear themselves... unwise and impatient ones would jerk and pull and end up tearing clothing and sometimes skin, and in the lush and humid jungles of Viet Nam, a scratch could quickly become a bigger problem. 

The wisest and most experienced jungle-fighters carried machetes and sharp knifes to quickly cut though the “wait-a-minutes” and continue their missions.

Many of us fail to “wait a minute” and to properly respond to the things that are tangling around our legs or tugging at our attention (Hebrews 12:1) as we try to make our ways thru our days.

There are “bad things” that grab at us and slow us down – petty annoyances and not-so-petty problems. 

There are “not-bad” and even “good” things that tug at our time and pull us away from the path we’d planned, and to make matters worse, in our impatience and our self-centeredness, we can become confused about which is which.

We all need buddies around us to call out too…

We all need to “wait a minute” and look at what is hooking and holding us…

We all need wisdom and discernment to know when to slash out at a problem and when to stop and wait a minute for someone who needs a moment of our time or a bit of our attention.  

The tug of a spouse or a child or a co-worker on our sleeves is not to be slashed at with the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12) like the hooks of an addiction or the thorns of a old temptation that is holding us back or dragging us down.

Wait a minute,

when the hold-ups happen today.

Wait a minute,

and pray.

In all things…

Even as you make your way…

Wait a minute,

and pray.