What in the World Are You Waiting For?

by | Nov 16, 2011 | Uncategorized

Thoughts on waiting . . .

Sometimes God calls us to wait on Him for what we don’t understand.  Wait in trust, faith and obedience when we lose a job, a spouse to adultery, a child to drugs, a friend to misunderstanding. 

Sometimes we wait in expectancy. Wait for beauty to reveal itself in a sunrise over the ocean or the Grand Canyon, when new life struggles to enter the world, to see the story you labored to write published on beautiful pages.

Sometimes we wait in grief. Wait with heavy heart for a loved one to pass from this life to the next. For a leader to reconcile with another because the world is watching, needing to know that integrity is more important than being right.

Sometimes we wait for the right time.  Calling on wisdom to propose to a bride, speak in a meeting, share a word of knowledge with someone, tell your child about sex.

Sometimes we wait because fear and procrastination win.  When we know we need to resign from a job to follow a dream, to ask for help. Put off calling that friend because you know the conversation will take a while.

Sometimes waiting means a missed opportunity.  Waiting to take photos of the leaves that shift chameleon on the trees in the fall or in the spring when azaleas bloom profuse.  Only to see what once brought the eyes joy on branches, carpet the ground the next day. 

Sometimes waiting opens door for others unexpectedly.  When wedding guests decide they were too busy to come to the feast, how their waiting ushers opportunity for the poor, needy, outcast to take their place at the table.  Because sometimes opportunity only knocks at the door once. ~Matthew 22: 7-10

As a child, I pray in the stillness of night. My heart beats the bed shaking as I listen to the intruder in my basement.  Left alone I pray to the one beside me, over me, with me in the empty house and wait. The only one I know can save me, He answers my prayer, protects me from harm.

As a young girl, I pray for someone to love me the way I watch parents love my friends.  Pray and wait.  And when I meet my husband, he comes with a mother who loves me the way I ask.

As newlyweds, when we lose our jobs after the wedding, we pray for direction and wait.  The answer comes in the voice of a pastor wondering if we might consider pursuing ministry as a vocation.  We sit in our car and weep.  In the desolation of waiting, when the answer arrives, it is obvious gift.

After seven years of waiting for a child with this man who love me like I didn’t know is possible, God answers prayers with a beautiful daughter. And three years later, a son.

When family grows and we become restless, God shows me a place I have never seen while in prayer.  Tells me it’s time to move. And so I wait  . . . for a year.  My husband receives a job offer that comes with a move and when we look for a house, the realtor drives us through a neighborhood that matches what He shows me that day in prayer. I know it is right, that waiting is good.

Now, when storms brew heavy on the horizon, things look twisted and unsure, I pray and waitBecause in the waiting, He is working goodness in what I can’t see, understand or know. 

But I do know this: We are the benefactors of His labor and what He brings is good because He loves me, loves you  . . . . And that’s all that matters. 

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. ~Psalm 5:3

What are  you waiting for today?

For more understanding on waiting go here and sit with these words awhile.

Linking today with Ann and Emily.

 

 

 

 

 

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13 Comments

  1. Rambling Heather

    Oh how Father has kept me in a state of waiting time and time again. It’s not easy for me to wait expectantly but He teaches me much through the process. Thanks for sharing this today.

    • Redemption's Beauty

      That word just kept echoing in my head this past week. And then the words just came out and I realized how much waiting is a part of life. It is how we respond in the midst of the waiting that makes all the difference. Thanks for your reflection here!

  2. Ruthiey

    This is so beautiful. I’m waiting for the man God wants me to marry and it’s a happy waiting, but it’s oh so hard!

    • Redemption's Beauty

      Thank you. I remember those days of waiting for life to begin with my man. Such a wonderful season to look back on. Blessings!

  3. brian

    i have been waiting for some time now to see what is next…and sometimes get glimpses that keep me content in that waiting…though i do have my moments of wanting to get out and push the car if needed…smiles.

    • Redemption's Beauty

      Brian, I was thinking about you the other day and wondering why you haven’t written a book. Or maybe you have. With the following you have, and the number of comments you receive, you definitely have a following. Always glad to see you in the comment box!

      • brian

        i have not yet…i am working on my first right now…i have been published in a few anthologies and mags but…it has been a long time coming but i am about to make that leap;..

  4. kim-Stuff could...

    You have seen that waiting on God…does have the best results. We learn that He knows best. I finally re-learned that lesson…Thank God!

    • Redemption's Beauty

      Yes, I used to be so led by my emotions, reactionary. My husband is a good role-model on waiting. Early in our marriage I thought he was procrastinating by not DOING something about whatever the circumstance was. I learnd that he was always right to wait in faith. Thanks!

  5. Amy Sullivan

    Oh, I want to be a good waiter, but it’s hard. Why can’t ____________ (fill in the blank!) happen now? I know God has been pushing me to see the joy in waiting, and I’m learning, slowly.

    • Redemption's Beauty

      Amy, love your writing. And me too, always learning to rest in the wait. It’s long obedience in the same direction.

  6. Pam@Writing...Apples of Gold

    I’m taking time to go back through some of your old posts, savor your stories… This is beautiful. I love how you build to your own waiting and how God has answered. I’m in a “waiting sort of time” myself, standing on God’s promises… Not sharing this on my own site, since it doubles as work resume in some ways. Been out of full time work now a year and a half, getting past some surgery and radiation, working low paying temp jobs with my heart set on knowing God is my Jehovah Jireh and is about to open doors beyond my imagination. This post encourages me in the wait. Blessings on your writing, Shelly.

    • Redemption's Beauty

      Pam, thanks for sharing about your waiting on God as you recover. I will remember to pray for you. If there is anything specific you would like to share off the blog, please feel free to email me at shelly@redemptionsbeauty.com. Would love to stand with you during this season.

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