Consistently Second Cindy

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

- Psalm 130:5

Consistently Second Cindy. That's me. It's been true since my beginning. It started when my mother gave birth to me, second! That may not be a fair assumption but technically, my brother came first by twelve years, so I can't even say the doctor goofed on the time of birth. I was never voted patrol leader in Girl Scouts, it was always assistant patrol leader.

When my teacher looked over our handwriting papers, she chose mine and Ellen's. Our teacher never liked penning the masters for the mimeograph machine, so she chose students with good handwriting to print them. It was Ellen Moore or me, and Ellen won. She got to write the masters until she fell on the play ground and broke her right arm. Then second place wasn't so bad.

High school was my worst nightmare. While upper classmen were searching for ways to beat the school rules and walk to the fast food place down the street for lunch, I was still trying to find my way to the lunchroom.

In band try-outs, I never achieved first clarinet. Second clarinet was the best I could render. And when the day came to try-out for drum majorette - you guessed it, assistant drum majorette. In track, I never won the 440 yard dash (that's where the name Consistently Second Cindy was coined). I would have sworn the second place podium had my name engraved on it.

It seems my life is full of seconds and frankly, sometimes it gets old. Everyone needs an occassional pat on the back. Today my dear friend sends me an instant message that says, "Here's today's Upper Room Thought For the Day: When has God sent an angel to direct, comfort or encourage you? You're that person, Cindy, so thanks."

That's when it hit me. Some of us aren't meant to be the dog that gets the treat. Some of us are chosen to wait. Maybe all these years of being Consistently Second Cindy was just the preparation for being the voice of urgency and support. These days, second place doesn't bother me. I got over it when I gave birth. I figured giving birth was a first place feat, so I lost the title of Consistently Second.

After all Jesus wasn't first place either. He wasn't invited to dine with families. Most of the time, He invited himself. He certainly didn't win the coin toss when it came to Him or Barabbas! Come to think of it, second place is really not so bad. Learning to wait for God's timing is easy to verbalize to our friends, but actually learning to do it--well, that's a whole lot different. Wait for the Lord and your time will come. Wait with confidence, patience, and excitement for your time will come.

Until then, I wait.