Recently the pastor at our church and his wife invited us over for lunch.  He is Italian and he prepared a delicious homemade marinara sauce.  Since I have an abundance of tomatoes in my garden this time of year I asked him for his recipe.  He explained how to saute garlic in some olive oil then add the tomatoes and cook for two to three hours, add some basil and salt and it’s done. 

The first time I tried the recipe I was in a hurry so I didn’t take two to three hours to cook it.  Brett and I agreed it tasted better than store-bought sauce, but it was not as good as I had hoped.  This last week I picked more tomatoes than I could make salsa with so I decided again to try the marinara sauce.  This time I took the time and cooked the tomatoes with the garlic and olive oil for two hours before adding the basil and salt.  The next day before serving it I added a little more garlic and olive oil and it was delicious.  What a difference just cooking the tomatoes longer made. 

I am reminded of the story of Abraham and Sarah.  God told them they would have a son and more descendants than they could count.  But, God’s perfect plan required waiting on their part and eventually, in human terms, they felt as if they had waited too long and took it upon themselves to fulfill God’s promise.  What a fiasco they both lived to regret.  God fulfilled His promise to them when the perfect time arrived. 

To be truthful I’m not a very patient person.  I usually want what I want, right now!  But, I have learned that if I want delicious marinara sauce I must wait at least two hours for it to cook, or wait to be invited back to lunch at the pastors house.  I think I will try to remember these words from David:  I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Psalm 27:13-14