Making Brownies with P.J. There's nothing quite as exciting in a 3 1/2-year-old's life as snack time, and nothing even comes close when brownies are involved - especially brownies with sprinkles. A few days ago Cynthia suggested we make a box of brownies as a "going away gift" for the girl who had previously watched the kids. Apparently P.J. is an expert brownie batter stirrer (and an even better brownie batter taster, as I soon found out). I dumped the mix in, added the water, oil, and two eggs, and after 50 or so revolutions of the spoon (maybe a few more if you count P.J.'s : ), poured the batter into one of those new blue flexible pans (which are amazing, by the way), and began the sprinkle decoration process. P.J. had a hard time getting more than about 3 out of the small plastic package, so I poured some into his little hand and told him to make sure he spread them out and didn't dump them all in one place. After the sprinkles were dispersed and an official "all done" was proclaimed, the brownies headed off to the oven for their 30 minutes before they reached perfection. I slid them in and hit "start," explaining to P.J. that it would be a half hour before they would be done baking. "OK," he responded, apparently preparing himself and feeling quite confident in his ability to wait patiently. Nevertheless, 10 seconds after I shut the oven, P.J. pulled at my shirt sleeve eagerly, "Are dey done yet?!" he implored. "Not yet, P.J.," I responded. "They still have 29 1/2 minutes." "OK," he replied, seemingly content with my answer and ready, again, to resume his adventure of waiting. 30 seconds passed. "Now are da brownies done?" "No, P.J.," I answered again. This time I had an idea. "Why don't we go play with your trains while we wait?" "But how will we know when dey'wer done?" he asked, looking quite concerned. "The timer will tell us. Don't worry. We'll hear it when they're done." "OK." So off we went to play with Thomas and Trevor and imagine all kids of adventures for little tank engines to find themselves in. Before we knew it, the buzzer went off. "Guess what, P.J.?" "What?" "The buzzer went off. The brownies are done." He looked at me with and a little grin and replied, "You get 'em. I want to keep playin' wif my twains." "OK, I'll get them," I assured him. We'll eat them later when they cool off, OK?" "OK." So back he went to his boxcars and cabooses, eager appetite for the sprinkled chocolate goodness temporarily appeased by the world of toy locomotives. As much as time like this with my new playmate make me smile, as much as I hate to admit it, I think most of the time my patience level is a lot like P.J.'s. When I hear God telling me to wait for something, I often take a deep breath and sit back with a confident "I-can-do-it" "OK, God," only to jump up 3 seconds later with an eager, "OK, am I done waiting yet?!?!" I was talking with my cousin Jenny this weekend about just such things in life, and she was comforting as she related with me in my struggles with patience and waiting when God asks it of us. Before I left, she shared a song with me that I now have taped to my bedroom mirror: "While I'm waiting" by John Waller I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I'm hopeful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it is painful But patiently, I will wait. I will move ahead, bold and confident Taking every step in obedience. While I'm waiting...I will serve You While I'm waiting...I will worship While I'm waiting...I will not faint I'll be running the race...Even while I wait. I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am peaceful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it's not easy But faithfully, I will wait Yes, I will wait. I may not have toy locomotives to distract me in the process, but I pray that God transfixes me with His presence. Makes me sit quietly beside him in perfect contentment. Fills my aching, ravenous desire for purpose. While I wait I want to serve, worship, and be satisfied. More than anything, I want to be satisfied. And He is the only One who can accomplish this in me...so I will wait...until I don't even notice the buzzer : )