The other day I did a reading of my book for a dynamic group of men and women (I will share more about that at a later time). At the reading someone asked me if I was single, I paused answered yes...it's my Achilles heal question, because I asked myself everyday in the process of writing my book, "who the hell am I to write a book on love?" -but in powerful moments of faith I kept trudging along...and through the completion of the book, and feedback/reception from others, I have come to see being single as less of a lack of experience and more a testament to a truth of life, love and prayer.
Today, I was watching a Facebook post of a friend. -she had posted a video of a man sharing about a recent experience at a restaurant. He placed his order, all the people at his table were brought their food, even a table next to his with a group who came in after him, were all served before him. In a space of frustration he asked the server why he had still not been served, the server replied, your order was complex and took longer for the cook to prepare.
In that moment he had an epiphany, he realized that the greatest prayers of life are answered at a rate that is in direct correlation to the complexity of the request.
In a tangible illustration, take a young Barack Obama, let's say he prays for an Ivy League educated woman, who loves hip-hop, is strong in her core beliefs, oh and in the future, when she is 48, she will be on the Ellen Show doing push-ups like its a piece of cake....you see in metaphorical terms his prayer is a "complicated order" thus, not surprising they were well into their 30s when they married.
So whether, it's marital status, job status, physical status, or whatever the prayer, know that often times the time required for response is in direct proportion to the complexity of the request.
Now, more often than not, I sit in a place of contentment, in faith (not conceit) that the prayers upon my heart have not falling on deaf ears, but on the ears of a Cook who needs a little more time to fulfill the order of my request.