I'm impatient. That's one of my biggest areas I need to work on. When I want something, I want it immediately or pretty much as soon as I can get it. I don't like waiting or being told no, especially when it is something that is within my reach.

But the thing about God is that He doesn't always work that way. Just because it is a desire of my heart doesn't mean that it is what He has planned for me. I've really struggled with this concept a lot this year. If it is something that my heart is after, something that I've been praying for, something that I feel like God is leading me to, why can't I get it? The bible says in Psalm 37:4 to "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

In the past few years, I have watched my mom work diligently towards her goals in life. She has taken workshops and classes and gone on interviews. Each time it seems like she is about to reach it, God switches her path. He puts her in new places that are still working towards the same goal. He is taking her on a path that is so different than the one she has planned for herself. While yes, it is frustrating at times, confusing at times and even painful at times, He is preparing her for something so much better than what she has planned for herself.

I've been going through a similar situation this year. It is no secret to those who know me that I have been pursuing someone the past eight months. God placed an amazing man in my life this year and I have been head over heels for him for some time now. I prayed and prayed that God would allow me to be in a relationship with him. But, a few months ago, I realized that I had been praying selfishly for him. I had been praying that God would give me something that I wanted. But the thing is, God isn't a fairy godmother who grants wishes. He is a Heavenly Father who is good and loving; someone who has a plan for me that is better than anything I have for myself. I realized that I cannot be asking God for something if I am not first seeking Him. I must seek Him every day. Spending time in His word and praying to Him that I would be obedient to where He is leading. Only then will He give me the desires of my heart.

Something else that I learned this year is that by placing my faith in Him, I am also placing my faith in His timing. Habakkuk 2:3 says that "For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." If I feel that God is leading me towards something, then I must have faith in Him that He will deliver it in His timing. That's hard for someone who is impatient. But the thing is, like 1 Corinthians 13:4 says "Love is patient..." Love is not rushed. Love waits patiently for its time. While it has been hard to be patient, patience is rewarded by God's perfect timing. The person I have been pursuing for eight months now asked me to be his girlfriend this week. God was faithful to what He had revealed to me — in His timing. While I did not understand what He was doing during the past eight months, I know now that He was preparing both myself and my now-boyfriend for something better than I had planned for us. If we began a relationship back in May, the relationship would not be what it is now. God knew that this summer, He would be doing big things in my life that changed me and molded me into a stronger follower of Christ. By doing so, He prepared my heart for the relationship He had been planning all along.

God is so good. So much so that we don't always realize the extent of his goodness. I am thankful for His timing, His love and His plan for my life.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." - Ecclesiastes 3:11