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Our world is one of instant gratification. I can have popcorn in two minutes and the response to a text in seconds. Thanks to my fancy phone, I never have to wait until I get home to check my e-mail, and I can update twitter whenever it strikes my fancy. I grow annoyed at red lights and frustrated at train tracks. Waiting is not something I do well.
I know I’m not alone in this. Go on, admit it. You’re not good at waiting either. You know what you want, and like Veruca Salt on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original version), you want it now.
The fast-paced-have-it-your-way-in-five-minutes-or-less culture that we live in has bred us to expect instant results. And most of the time, that’s fine. Except, of course, when we’re required to wait.
This week, I’ve been studying the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah. God promised them something big, and they waited a looooooooong time – 25 years to be exact – for it to happen.
Have you ever been there? Stuck in a holding pattern, waiting for something more? I am so there, y’all. I know how they felt. God promised me something a long time ago, and I’m wondering how long it will take for it to happen.
A couple of months ago, I went to Nashville with some other women from my church to attend a leadership forum. As I listened to some really fabulous women speak and teach, I was reminded of how badly I desire that kind of ministry. I recalled the moments in my life when I have felt God’s firm hand tugging me in that direction…and yet…I wait.
Don’t get me wrong – God has always been faithful to me. He has provided writing projects that have stretched and challenged me. I am currently overwhelmed by offers from editors, and that’s a good thing. Three years ago, with my brand new M.Div. gathering dust in the closet, it took me months to generate any sort of interest in my work. Months. I am thankful and grateful for the editors who have taken chances on me and allowed me to contribute to their publications. They have helped me get this train rolling.
But I’m still not satisfied. I want more. The prophet Jeremiah famously said that the word of God burned in him like a fire that he simply could not hold in.
I’m weary of holding it in, y’all.
And yet, in six short months, I will give birth to a brand new baby. My sweet little toddler is turning into quite a handful. I can’t even manage to go to the grocery store most weeks, much less travel across the country teaching the word of God. It’s just not time for that dream to become a reality. As much as I long for God to use me in such extraordinary ways, I feel like He is first calling me to be faithful in the place I am right now. In this stage of life. To raise my babies and serve in my church and write when I can.
God’s delay in fulfilling His promises is not His denial of their eventual realization.
Abraham and Sarah learned that by waiting. As for me, well, I’m trying. Patience takes practice, you know. I’m learning that just because it may not happen overnight doesn’t mean that it won’t happen at all. I’m taking it one step at a time and one assignment after another, all the while trusting that God’s timing is impeccable.
Until next time, grace and peace.
Life has been busy lately. So busy, in fact, that I haven’t taken the time to sit down and write here as often as I would like. With a baby set to arrive in just three weeks, baskets of pink onesies and fluffy blankets have swallowed me. I’ve been getting her room in order and and hosting family and having a baby shower, and life has been insane. In the midst of my normal, everyday life, I’ve been consumed by writing projects. I’ve got articles coming out in ec and myMISSIONfulfilled in September, and another article coming out in the December issue of ec. I’ve also signed a contract to write Sunday school curriculum for Clarity Publishers, and I’ve completed one of six lessons. I’m trying to crank out a couple more lessons before it’s baby time. All of that explains my recent absence. If you don’t hear from me again for a while, it probably means that the baby is here and I’m getting used to life as a new parent.
But regardless of all that is going on in my life, consuming my time and occupying my thoughts, I am still called to be about the business of God. Last week I wrote a Sunday school lesson to teach other people, but this week, the truths of the lesson keep popping up in my life. It seems that I need to teach myself the things that I wanted to teach others. It’s far too easy for me to lose sight of God in the middle of my busy-ness, and I was on the verge of turning down a wonderful opportunity to serve him because the timing is inconvenient.
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