It felt as if it took forever for us to get to Norris Pool when I was a kid. You see, once I learned how to swim, I couldn’t get enough of it. That being said, when I was standing next to the pool, I had a problem in that I knew the water was going to be ice cold.

There were times when the water felt that cold. In fact, we used to joke that they dumped a truck load of ice into the pool that morning. After arrival, my friends and I would slowly get into it on the shallow end, which was four feet. First, we would sit on the side and place our legs in the water until they weren’t as cold. Next, we would slide into the pool and stand in it with our arms crossed to keep warm. If it was early in the morning and the wind was blowing, I would shake a little and get goose bumps. That’s when I would dance and hop around in the water to increase my circulation. At times, my friends would do that too and at other times they would laugh at me. Finally, we would dunk all the way down into the water. Then one day I was standing next to the pool and I realized we were wasting time by our slow emergence. We were also missing out on lots of fun. That’s when I knew there was only one thing to do.

On our next trip to the pool, I didn’t join my friends as they dangled their legs in the shallow end. Instead, I walked over the deep end dove in head first. When I popped back up to the water’s surface, I Immediately began to swim. The water was still cold, but I adjusted to it a lot quicker that way. Here’s a quick safety note: don’t ever dive in where you don’t know the depth of the water. Back to the story. None of my friends ever wanted to jump in with me. They preferred to slowly adjust to the water temperature. So, I would swim around until they were ready to join me.

Over the years, I continued in the practice of jumping into things because I hate the thought of wasting time while I wait. For instance, I recently wanted to start a writing project. I don’t want to go into details, but I tried to jump in before I was ready and it caused some problems. I was initially frustrated and my feelings were a little hurt. Then I began to have doubts about my project. Should I even start it? I prayed about it and then I called a couple of dear Christian friends. After talking to them I understood that God was telling me: “Not yet. Just wait.”

“Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” Ruth 3:18 (KJV)

When Naomi told Ruth to “Sit still,” she was advising her daughter-in-law to wait. Now, I totally understand Ruth’s impatience in this story. In all fairness, they were both widows who were in a desperate situation. But Naomi kept calm because she had the wisdom to know they needed to trust God and rely on His timing. This is something I work on every day.

If Naomi had been in the car with me the other day, she would have told me to sit still as well. As I was driving back home, I came upon a long line sitting at a red light. Instead of waiting, I decided to jump over into the empty turn lane instead. In my mind, not only would I not be sitting longer at the red light, but I would also get ahead of the traffic. It didn’t work. At all. Instead, I got into more traffic and it took me longer to get home. Naomi would have also said: “I told you so.”

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.