It's been 7 weeks. Seven weeks since we locked our front door for the last time and waved goodbye to our little house in Gracey, Kentucky.
My original plan was to live bold and stay in our camper while we waited to close on the new house. Yep, two adults, two kids and a dog crammed into 250 sq feet of awesomeness. But a 3-day camping trip quickly made me realize that I was absolutely insane for even considering that as an option. Seriously, what was I thinking? This isn't HGTV's Tiny House Hunters or Alaskan Bush People. This is real life and real life calls for hot showers, and closet space, and a dishwasher, and I just couldn’t do it. So I’m not as tough as I thought I was and my in laws have graciously opened their home to us. And it's here that we wait.
What should have been four weeks of displacement has now turned into seven. And it could be even longer if this deal falls through. God has us waiting. And waiting sucks. During this season, I've been intentionally quiet. No writing. Just listening and eagerly seeking Gods purpose for my wait.
The wait. It is such a powerful, God-filled place to be. It’s in the wait that you are completely powerless. It's in the wait that you have no option, but to place your ultimate trust in God again. In the wait, you put it down and don't pick it back up. Because it’s in the wait that you have finally exhausted all of your resources. And it's in the wait that God equips us for the next move.
Scripture reveals time and time again God’s people retreating to the wait. Abraham waited decades for his promised son, Isaac. Esther lived in the palace for months as she waited for the divine moment to approach the king and save the Jewish people. Paul and Silas sang praises to God as they waited in the prison. And even Jesus waited in the Garden of Gethsemane for his impending capture by the Roman guards. God still uses the wait to get our attention. To get us on our knees. To bring us back to his presence. To strengthen us for whatever is coming next.
A dear man in our church has been in an intense wait for several months now, a wait for a new liver. He's a husband, and dad, a grandad, and in the words of our pastor on Sunday, a pillar of our congregation. He received word last week that he has entered his final wait here on earth, his wait to go home to his Lord. But he has palatable peace in his wait, because he is leaning in confidence on God’s promise of eternal life in paradise.
It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when God will make you wait and what we choose to do with our wait is up to us. You see, I could be using my wait to allow bitterness to grow. I could pout and stamp my foot at God for not giving me what I want when I want it. But that won’t speed up the process or change my current circumstance. Instead, I’m choosing to dive deeper into his word. To get on the floor and play Scrabble with my second grader. To cook next to my mother-in-law and watch Big Brother with my father-in-law. And I’m using my wait to pray more fervently and with more faith than I have in a long while
So wait. When it's another month and another negative pregnancy test. Wait. When you can't stand another day at your job, but the next opportunity hasn't come along. Wait. When your teenager is starting day 3 of not speaking to you. Wait. When your husband still doesn't want to go to church with you. Wait. When you won't get the lab results until next week. Wait. Just wait. Wait, and pray, and study, and fast, and cry, and wait some more. Because when God makes His children wait, you can be assured that it is ALWAYS for something unexpected. And while we may not get to see it on this side of heaven we can also be assured that it is ALWAYS for something great.
My original plan was to live bold and stay in our camper while we waited to close on the new house. Yep, two adults, two kids and a dog crammed into 250 sq feet of awesomeness. But a 3-day camping trip quickly made me realize that I was absolutely insane for even considering that as an option. Seriously, what was I thinking? This isn't HGTV's Tiny House Hunters or Alaskan Bush People. This is real life and real life calls for hot showers, and closet space, and a dishwasher, and I just couldn’t do it. So I’m not as tough as I thought I was and my in laws have graciously opened their home to us. And it's here that we wait.
What should have been four weeks of displacement has now turned into seven. And it could be even longer if this deal falls through. God has us waiting. And waiting sucks. During this season, I've been intentionally quiet. No writing. Just listening and eagerly seeking Gods purpose for my wait.
The wait. It is such a powerful, God-filled place to be. It’s in the wait that you are completely powerless. It's in the wait that you have no option, but to place your ultimate trust in God again. In the wait, you put it down and don't pick it back up. Because it’s in the wait that you have finally exhausted all of your resources. And it's in the wait that God equips us for the next move.
Scripture reveals time and time again God’s people retreating to the wait. Abraham waited decades for his promised son, Isaac. Esther lived in the palace for months as she waited for the divine moment to approach the king and save the Jewish people. Paul and Silas sang praises to God as they waited in the prison. And even Jesus waited in the Garden of Gethsemane for his impending capture by the Roman guards. God still uses the wait to get our attention. To get us on our knees. To bring us back to his presence. To strengthen us for whatever is coming next.
A dear man in our church has been in an intense wait for several months now, a wait for a new liver. He's a husband, and dad, a grandad, and in the words of our pastor on Sunday, a pillar of our congregation. He received word last week that he has entered his final wait here on earth, his wait to go home to his Lord. But he has palatable peace in his wait, because he is leaning in confidence on God’s promise of eternal life in paradise.
It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when God will make you wait and what we choose to do with our wait is up to us. You see, I could be using my wait to allow bitterness to grow. I could pout and stamp my foot at God for not giving me what I want when I want it. But that won’t speed up the process or change my current circumstance. Instead, I’m choosing to dive deeper into his word. To get on the floor and play Scrabble with my second grader. To cook next to my mother-in-law and watch Big Brother with my father-in-law. And I’m using my wait to pray more fervently and with more faith than I have in a long while
So wait. When it's another month and another negative pregnancy test. Wait. When you can't stand another day at your job, but the next opportunity hasn't come along. Wait. When your teenager is starting day 3 of not speaking to you. Wait. When your husband still doesn't want to go to church with you. Wait. When you won't get the lab results until next week. Wait. Just wait. Wait, and pray, and study, and fast, and cry, and wait some more. Because when God makes His children wait, you can be assured that it is ALWAYS for something unexpected. And while we may not get to see it on this side of heaven we can also be assured that it is ALWAYS for something great.
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