Originally Posted to My LinkedIn Page Around June 2025

Over the past six weeks, I have worked with Oliver Asher ("OA" for short), my 18-week-old Yorkie, to teach him to wait. Before he is allowed out of his playpen, he has to sit, make eye contact with me, wait while I open the gate all the way and give him permission to come out. Most times now, I don't have to say a word. He just knows to wait. If, however, he tries to push his way out, I close the gate again, and we start over. His impatience causes what he wants to be delayed.

At feeding time, again, he must sit, make eye contact with me, and wait until I release him to eat. After he has finished eating or other crate time, he again knows to wait until he has permission to come out.

A couple of days ago, I believe God showed me the significance of what I have been teaching OA, and how it applies to my own life: The importance of the word "wait."

All too often, I try to create my own path, make my own decisions without praying first, move out ahead of God, thinking that I know better than He does. What I fail to realize is that I don't know more than God, and because He knows everything about me and about my future, He alone knows the best decisions for me.

Whenever I make uninformed or impulsive decisions, I run the risk of getting into situations that can be detrimental to my well-being. Allowing OA to rush out of his playpen before I have a chance to block the stairs with his puppy gate can result in serious harm to him. Allowing him to eat without me making sure that what he is about to eat is safe for him could be harmful to him especially if it's something that he encounters on a walk. Allowing him to come out of his crate whenever he wants could be disastrous for him because he's so small (4.5 pounds), and I or anyone in my home may not see him.

As I pondered on the training OA and I have been doing, and the "wait" command, God has allowed me to see that all the times I have prayed for certain things and am still waiting for Him to answer those prayers, it is for my good. Not only am I learning to be patient and to wait with the right attitude, despite how urgently I want what I want, I am learning to trust that God knows what is best for me and what could potentially harm me. So, as I type this lesson to share with you, I will encourage you not to give up hope for what you desire and pray for. Continue to wait - patiently - and know that your time will come.

Just as Oliver Asher knows that on the other side of his wait, he gets to play, explore, and eat, and that he is safe in all of it, know that there is reward on the other side of your wait.🦋