It's the WAITING...

It seems to me the hardest part of pretty much anything is the waiting game. I am not sure why they call it a game, games to me are supposed to be fun, but for whatever reason, the best things in life require the wait. This does not seem to hold true for the bad things in life though. When my mom died it seemed to be a race to the finish line. We needed the the time that waiting would have given to us, however her body just gave out at record speed. Why is this I wonder? Life just does not make sense sometimes. Accident happen quickly, relationships end with speaking just the wrong words, split second decisions can end in an amazing amount of tragedy. Yet, the good stuff in life requires this incredibly long WAIT.

What can you do in the middle of the wait? I know some people in my life that simply climb into bed and wait there. They forgo all responsibility and simply wait for what they need to come. Once it is here they climb out of bed and deal with what they were waiting for. Others fill their lives with a flurry of activity, running to and fro hoping to make the time go faster until they can SUFFER through the wait. Yet others are filled with anxiety, they talk through what they are waiting for with anyone and everyone that will listen to them. The person in the grocery store knows, the gas station attendant, all their friends are kept up to date with incremental movements. Then there are those that just do not wait at all. They just blow through the opportunity and loose out on the blessing that comes from waiting for the good things to arrive.

Do not get me wrong! I personally do not feel that you should put your life on hold and just sit on your porch with your hands in your lap patiently awaiting for the mother lode. Nor do I feel you should fill your life with distracting behaviors or activities to keep you busy. I personally have a tendency to be a little of each of the scenarios listed above. I am not one that waits very easily. Waiting for a decision to come, for a check to arrive, for a client to finish their work or to hear about a grant decision can be excruciating. Wondering how all the pieces are going to fit together can and does often keep me up at night. As I have mentioned before, this blog is for me as much as anyone, and this is an area that I am right smack in the middle of learning about. Ugh!

I know what I do not want to happen. I do not want to let the anxieties of life crowd out the peace that I can have if I just wait for the right answer to come to me. If I can keep my cool and take my life one little step at a time and wait for time to heal the wounds. If I can be patient and let the people in my life have the time that they need to come to important decisions or work at their pace, then I know that peace will be the result. Why do we put so much pressure on each other? Why do we rush head long into a decision about something without taking the time to think all the avenues through? More importantly, why do we rush ahead of God and loose out on His promise of peace? Sometimes I think in my life I give in to the pressures that are placed on me by other people, situations, relationships and just pressure I put on myself. I forget that there is a place to bring my fears while I am waiting. I run instead through the china shops of life like a crazed bull. What can I do instead? I can wait patiently, give my fears and anxieties to the Father who knows all about them anyways. I can let people in my life that choose to rush life...rush around and let their chips lie where they will. However, I can accept the peace that God has for me when I wait patiently for Him to move. The relationships, the business deals, the life and death decisions can be made better with a clarity and time.

Isaiah 30:18

The Message (MSG)

¹⁸But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you.
He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.
God takes the time to do everything right—everything.
Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.