A Greater Yes

“Seriously?” I asked with a hint of exasperated disbelief.  “Those were the very items I was going to order today.”

The waitress looked at me with a blank stare as I paused before sitting down.

A friend and I were visiting a restaurant my brother and sister-in-law recommended to me months prior.  I invited my sister-friend (a dear friend who’s like a sister) as a celebratory event for an educational accomplishment she recently completed.  Several reschedules later, we were finally able to go to the restaurant for lunch, which was a 45-minute drive.

Prior to visiting I had viewed the restaurant’s website several times, researched reviews, scheduled the highly recommended reservation, and looked through the menu – settling on one definite dish and a potential appetizer.  Guess what the only two menu items were that were not being served that day.  Thus, my exasperated disbelief stemmed from disappointment, as I had been waiting to try out this place for a long time.

Isn’t it just like life to stir frustration when we have to wait even longer for something that we have already waited a long time to obtain?

Since we were at the restaurant and it had taken time for our schedules to align, I sat down

This is the perfect time to briefly touch on the purpose of my blog.

Life speaks to us (me) every day, offering nuggets of wisdom in each situation. Each week I share the snippets of wisdom life, or better yet – God, offers to me.  There are days when I immediately absorb the wisdom, other times when I tuck the insight into the corner of my heart to retrieve at another time, and still times I crumple the lesson and toss it over my shoulder as I walk away.  Yes, the crumpled-up lessons are the ones I end up having to relearn…sometimes the hard way.

The restaurant experience was, however, a sweet reminder about not always getting what I want.

The menu offered many other choices.  Thus, a different appetizer and dish were selected, which did not disappoint.  Let’s just say it was the best version of the meal I had ever had – so much so that I told my friend and the waitress that I was glad the items I initially wanted were unavailable because I would have missed the fantastic meal.  There simply was a greater yes.

My friend and I agreed we’d return to the restaurant with other folks.  It was what I considered to be a special restaurant – one I’d visit every once-in-awhile, after taking out a small loan. Not really – but definitely an occasional type of visit.

Nugget of wisdom.  There have been numerous times when life – or better yet, God – said no to something I really wanted.  Perhaps the “No” came in the form of a rejection, a closed door, or an unavailable meal at a restaurant.  My past “No” answers stemmed from a plethora of reasons, whether it was a timing issue, not good for me, I was not right for the situation…the list of reasons is long. It was, at times, frustrating, disappointing, or a relief.  Yet the longer I live, the more time and life have shown me a “No” to something that I want today means there is most likely a greater “Yes” on the way.

Stay encouraged.