“Mommy, I want a shiny new whirligig and maybe a yo-yo for my birthday,” little Jimmy pleaded.

“When your birthday comes next month, tell me which one you want more, and I will get it for you,” was Mommy’s wise reply. When Jimmy’s birthday arrived, he forgot the whirligig and chose the yo-yo instead.

Time filters out fleeting fancies and leaves the heart’s true desire. The battle of clichés rages between “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and “out of sight, out of mind.” Do I really want the latest gizmo, or is this a passing impulse? Do I genuinely aspire to what I am praying for, or is it a soon-to-be-forgotten whim? A man in his youth says, “I want to learn underwater basket weaving.” Do you, now? Time will tell.

After a very long delay, we have visas and plane tickets in hand and are bound for Thailand. Praise the Lord, and thank you to all who have been praying. Has this delay affected our hope of seeing the people of Surat Thani find salvation through Jesus Christ? Yes! This waiting time has proven a blessing. Our prayers are more earnest, and our desire has intensified with the passing months. We place a higher value on our calling and on the souls we seek to bless as we plead for the opening providences of God.

However, our attitude toward the visa delay is less consequential than our reaction to the promised return of Christ. We expected Him before now. What is the response to this waiting time? Some experience an increased yearning for Him while life, work and pleasure extinguish the first love of others. The choice before us is not between whirligigs and yo-yos but between life and death. May the passing of time find your longing for Christ ever-growing and your love more fervent until we see Him face-to-face.

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