Last Fall it was obvious our above ground pool needed a new liner. I decided to wait until this Spring, so I just drained it halfway and let it sit over the winter. I got a name from a friend and called the guy on March 17. He told me he was on vacation in the Dominican Republic, but would be back in a few day. He gave me a price that we agreed on and said he was “two weeks out” on jobs. Ten days later I sent him a text asking when he might be coming by to look at the job. He said he would come the next day. At 2:00 p.m. the next day he texted that something had come up and he would come the next week. On April 4th I let him know I was leaving the country for 12 days and asked him to get with me after Easter.

On April 28th I inquired if I was on his schedule for my liner. His reply, “You are.”  On May 14th I asked when he would be coming by to get the deposit. His immediate response was “Will you be home this afternoon?” I said I would and he was here in ten minutes! Funny how money still talks, isn’t it? He was a nice enough guy and when he left he said, “You should be in the pool in two weeks.”

On May 22 he sent me pictures of choices for the liner. I picked one. The two week mark came with no word from him. I decided I would wait until the three week mark before texting him, and I finally heard from him this past Wednesday, June 4th,one day before I was going to text him. He said he would be here on Friday afternoon. He showed up and put in the new liner and it looks great. I just didn’t know I would wait almost three months for it to happen!

I am much more patient these days that I used to be, but this was testing guy tested the boundaries of my patience. When that happens, I ask God to help me, and I go to His Word. I know He is patient with me, and I want to have patience in my dealings with others. I decided to search for passages about patience in dealing with other people. As I searched, I was instead drawn to a list of verses telling me to WAIT FOR THE LORD. I will share a few of those with you today.

Lamentations 3:24–26 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

You and I know that people will disappoint us. I know I have disappointed people plenty of times myself. But I will never be disappointed by God. He has already done what was needed to get my out of the mess my sins caused. In His love He forgives me because I trust in the One He sent to be my Savior. Jesus did everything for me. Knowing that, I gladly wait for the Lord.

I will keep working on being patient with other people.