Tardy Chefright On Time

Tents of Mercy Congregation

Kiryat Yam, Israel

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, 

that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, 

and a thousand years as one day. 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 

… but is extraordinarily patient toward us…” (2 Peter 3:8-9)

After a sunrise drive and an early appointment at a government office in Tel Aviv, we were ready for breakfast. Entering the address of a promising coffee shop we had found online into the map app, we started walking. The cool air together with the warm sun and the sweet satisfaction of the successful bureaucratic task completed, bathed our brains with happy hormones. We strolled like smug tourists through “Neve Tzedek,” enjoying the new and old architecture, stopping at little shops that caught our fancy and taking the requisite photo here and there. 

As we sat down in the café, we saw that the chef himself, dressed in a crisp white chef coat, was filling the roles of host, server, cook, and dishwasher. Without frenzy or stress, he drifted between the guests, taking orders, bringing coffee and even cheerfully greeting a passing friend. Settling into the sidewalk table, we gave him our order and commenced “people watching.” We soon heard four different languages besides Hebrew. Our eyes happily roamed the street, from top to bottom, back and forth. With so much to take in, we didn’t notice the long wait, until an amazing smell of garlic and tomato and Mediterranean goodness filled our noses. 

And then we started to get impatient. The table beside us muttered about not receiving their coffee yet, and more customers had arrived. How in the world was the one chef going to manage? The minutes dragged on. Our mood flickered. After what felt like forever, the chef appeared. In one precise swoop he served us and took the other table’s order. 

It’s astounding how our impression of the passage of time is impacted by what is happening in our lives. Time really does fly when you are having a good time. When I think of the moments of pleasure and “suffering” in my own life – I am embarrassed. Just a few months ago the last of the living hostages were returned. What about the passage of time for them while they were in captivity? We are still discovering new details of their ordeal in the Gaza tunnels – horrors as well as micro-moments of relief and connection. Emily Damari talked about finding moments of positivity like folding her blanket, to create a feeling of minimal control. She also spoke of the enjoyment she takes now in such things as drinking a glass of cold water.  

Time is illusive and deceptive. When waiting without a smart phone, time crawls. But when scrolling through social media in search of a momentary escape from life’s pressures – minutes turn into hours like ice melting on a hot day! The last 2.5 years of war passed by at the same rate as any other 2.5 years. Yet they felt both long and short. And now we have all crossed into 2026. Celebrating a new year in the dead of winter offers color and hope. It points the brain toward faith, energy and optimism.

Wow – we humans need every opportunity we can get to start afresh, to be reminded of God’s goodness, to have our faith renewed, to be reminded of promises fulfilled and prayers answered, to have the slate wiped clean and the debts cancelled.

We tend to get impatient with God, when actually He is the one having patience with us! 

He is like the chef at the coffee shop who was taking care of everything and everyone behind the scenes. God is the one who skillfully meets our needs, and weaves the plot of His story - right on time. 

He is the author of time. He is Adonai Yireh, the One who sees our needs and provides. In the sweet moments when He touches us, time stands still, as He meets us in the most perfect and unexpected way.  

“For the vision is meant for its appointed time; it speaks of the end, and it does not lie. It may take a while, but wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3)