Delays Can Be Blessings!!!

One time I heard someone share a story about how he had been delayed by some relatives to travel from Kabale to Kampala. He was meant to travel by bus at a certain time; upon finishing the pleasantries with the relatives, he found a friend who was a village mate and requested him to drive as fast as he could to “catch up” with the bus.

After a long chase of furious driving, they finally gave up and waited for another round of transport to make it to Kampala. One hour later, they got a taxi bound for the destination; he hopped on it and after a few kilometers, he found the bus which they had been chasing to catch had overturned with lives lost, many injured, but his personal life was spared.

There was a lady who was yearning for a job promotion for years and it was never forthcoming. One of her colleagues got it but then the boss was a manager from an unpleasant planet in terms of manners and habits. Whereas at first she was almost jealous, later she was smiling inside her heart. Oh! And then she got a job from another organization with better pay and a fantastic work environment.

From a life saved to surviving a bad boss, there are such tales around us; I bet you have ever had similar stones, right? Then I am wondering how come sometimes when things do not go your way, you rant? In full disclosure, I sometimes catch myself in such a mood and the difference is that as I grow older the minutes I spend in such a state are getting fewer. Sometimes it is just seconds because I now know better.

I recall waiting for someone for a meeting for quite a while. It was frustrating; amidst that gap I struck a conversation with an interesting person who later turned out to be a client. To me that delay was a divine blessing.

It means being aware and patient. Being in this moment while anticipating that “only good can come out of your situation” I believe I have given enough examples to show that sometimes delays are blessings. Not even blessings in disguise but plain benefits or blessings. So next time a delay pops up, pause before you become angry. Instead take a deep breath and imagine that a blessing could be around the corner.

Imagine that there must be a good reason why that delay has happened and you might be pleasantly surprised to see it turn out to be so. Life is a buffet of experiences; parts of the servings are delays which sometimes turn out to be a better offering than earlier anticipated. The question is, “do you have the patience and mind-set to think so?” if you do not then it becomes a double tragedy.

First, you are delayed; second, you punish yourself with anger and self-inflicted pain. If instead you adopt a different mind-set to think that better things could come out of the current situation, experience or delay, then you will feel better and sometimes your imagination might come true because we have enough examples to show that it is true.

Now does that mean every delay is a blessing? Not at all. However, if you expect good to come out of every experience, the least that can happen is that you will feel better rather than inflicting self-torture. That alone is a benefit. Next time when there is a delay, pause and ask God, what blessing is this?

As it is illustrated in Matthew 7:7 “continue to ask, and God will give it to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will be opened for you.” God has every answer to our mystery questions, always placing God first in every situation through prayers because whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find and whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them and all these are through faith and believe in God.