I’m not very good at waiting. I always take things out of the oven too soon, I occasionally wear damp jeans because the dryer cycle is always too long and just the other night I put the steaming dishes away from the dishwasher before they were completely cooled down. (I slightly scorched my fingertips!) Sometimes the pasta is el dente, the banana bread uncooked in the middle, and my footprints can be seen over the freshly washed floor.
Waiting is not my favourite.
Yet, in many areas of my life right now, I am in a waiting season. For me, this literally has the potential to stop every area of my productivity. It puts me in a holding pattern, unable to move forward until I know all possible outcomes. I stare at blank screens, I feel like I’ve hit a creative dead end and every part of me wants to curl up under my cozy duvet until I know what’s going to happen next.
Waiting is not my favourite.
It’s easy to get stuck in waiting seasons.
But waiting seasons can be growing seasons.
There can be wisdom in the waiting.
If we believe God’s Word then we recognize that His timing is a thing of perfection. We know that as we wait on Him, our strength is renewed. If I’m honest though, sometimes I don’t want renewed strength. I don’t care that there is a time and season for everything under the sun. I want it all to happen, and I want it to happen now!
But what if waiting was actually part of the bigger picture?
When you wait, you learn to trust.
When you wait, you grow in diligence.
When you wait, you value what you have.
When you wait, you move ahead despite how you feel.
While it doesn’t seem like it, waiting seasons can be the place in which you walk out the steps you need for the very thing you are waiting for.
I see waiting all around me. Big life desires and plans floating everywhere, and beautiful big-hearted passionate people trying to grasp onto those strings of hope before they blow away in the wind. Holding their breath, afraid to exhale. Believing for love, blessing, healing, opportunity, acceptance, reconciliation, direction, miracles and countless other hopes and dreams near and dear to their beating hearts. So afraid that they’ve been forgotten and what they’ve been waiting for is passing them by.
Don’t be afraid.
You haven’t been forgotten.
Your name is known.
Don’t give up.
Choose joy in your waiting.
No matter what you are waiting for.
Make waiting your favourite.
Wait for the Lord,
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.