Don't settle for second best!!!

It's difficult to find that perfect pair of shoes and I have yet to find a pair of shoes that I absolutely love until I went to Belk and seen the Claudette d'orsay pumps by Jessica Simpson. However, after going to different stores looking for these shoes, every salesperson comes back out only to tell me they don't have my size. But today while I was out window shopping with my girlfriend Brandi, we went to Charming Charlie where I saw the Adele D'orsay pump that was similar to the Claudette d'orsay pumps and it was cheaper. I bought it, of course! I took my new shoes for a walk the next day---only to find out they caused me pain! And if you like me, you know a good pair of shoes should be comfortable from the moment you put them on! But because I was too impatient to wait, I settled for a lesser version of what I truly wanted! I settled for second best! ... After buying these shoes, it caused me to reflect on times I've settling for second best when I could've waited and had more. Is that ever a reality check! Especially in relationships, I have settled for men who was less ambitious, less religious, less intelligent, less physically attractive, less giving. Don't say you haven't done it. All of us are guilty of settling for less at some time in our lives. For you, it could be another aspect of your life, i.e., marriage, job, friends, goals, home, relationship, etc., but in this post, I wanted to go the other extreme…settling in relationships. While it’s something both sexes do, I feel us women settle more. But we all know, God doesn’t want us to settle for less. He wants what is best for His people.

 

Take the biblical story of Isaac and Ishmael. The story of Isaac and Ishmael is found in Genesis 16-21. Here’s a short synopsis of what happened. God made a promise to Abraham. He promised him a son through his wife Sarah as well as a covenant through the promised son. However, Abraham got impatient and Sarah got discouraged...and instead of trusting in God’s promise and His timing, they took matters into their own hands. They decided to speed up the process by getting a slave girl, Hagar, to bear children with Abraham. After Hagar gets pregnant, Abraham’s wife Sarah is now resentful of Hagar and treats her rough. Hagar runs away. God then speaks to Hagar. God tells Hagar to go back and that God is going to bless her son. The scriptures reveal that Ishmael was born because Abraham and Sarah couldn’t wait any longer. For 13 years Abraham sincerely believed that Ishmael was the promised son. BUT, in Chapter 17, which is 13 years later, God then tells Abraham that another son would come through Sarah herself. God then blesses them with their own child, Isaac! Isaac was born according to the promise of God.
 As we read the story, that sounds a little like us. Like Abraham and Sarah, we settle for second best in our lives. We settle because of lack of trust, lack of patience and we are by nature impatient people. We want what we want, and we want it now. But we are told in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

In conclusion, I simply want to encourage you all to not to settle, and give in to second best. Just like God didn't want Abraham and Sarah to settle, He wants the same for us! If you, like me, you may have settled for an Ishmael. But like those pumps from Charming Charlie, Ishmael will cause you more pain than not having your Isaac. The bottom line is that I should have waited for the Claudette d'orsay pumps by Jessica Simpson. One of the most important lessons that I am learning is that what God wants to give us is always far better than what we want Him to give us!!! I am writing this blog for myself and others, DONT SETTLE FOR LESS!!! Wait on the very best God has in store for you! God's promise to us, like that story, is about more: whatever we ask, He has more in store!

 

       

I really wanted the shoes on the right, but settled for the ones on the left!