Once in a while my family will skip some delicacies in some restaurants or hearty meals at home and instead we’ll take out food from convenience stores where as the name indicates they offer ready-to-eat food in a quick and simple way. My younger daughter loves rice rolls in the convenience store particularly when during the morning school rush hours, it is easy, simple to have a takeout. No wonder convenience stores are spreading out across the island enormously.

I have been wondering, though, that the culture of “convenience” has shaped the way we think and act unconsciously. We want a quick and easy answer rather than a thorough and complete solution. Students are swarming to attend crash classes, expecting to improve their skills or scores in a short period of time. They prefer multiple choices and avoid taking essay questions. While in illness, we tend to see the doctor to get medication immediately instead of allowing our immune system to build up and fight diseases. We’d like to satisfy our needs and desires instantly other than suffer for long.

Psalms119:71 says, “it is good for me to be afflicted, in order to learn your ways and laws.” When suffering “inconvenience” , May God help us to stop and think what we’re going to learn from His way — patience and kindness perhaps!