The Art of Waiting
We not only finished the Advent season with another 365 day rotation around the sun, but this year marked the end of an entire decade and the start of a new one. That feels all the more significant when you look back to a picture from 10 years ago and think what will life look like in another 10 years.
Our family has a tradition at Christmas where we view family videos of life ten years prior from whatever year we are in currently. We laugh at old boyfriends and gifts that used to be our favorite, both of which are gone now. We tear up with visual reminders of those dear to us, who were once with us and are not any longer. We remember the memories, and thank God that he moves us onward to new hairstyles and fashion of the present. Am I the only one?
I look at my ten year younger self and think what would I say to her? I would say,
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Just wait, He isn’t finished with you yet. There will be things harder than you can comprehend in the moment but you will get through it. There will be things too great and joyous beyond your imagination and it will sustain you. Just wait. You will be better for it.”
July 2010
I am thankful that my younger self didn’t yet know the uphill battles that lay ahead, dark years of doubt and depression, and difficult relationships wreaking havoc on my heart. I am thankful that my younger self didn’t know that many of her prayers would be answered and others would not, but they would be equally beautiful.
I am thankful, because I can now see in greater measure: the art of waiting is what makes us stronger.
In Isaiah 40:31, we are reminded,
“Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
Our lives are filled with waiting every day and yet I watch as I try to avoid the waiting at all costs, because truthfully I hate waiting. I hate waiting, because it reminds me of my lack of control.
No matter how much you and I try, there are still moments in which you have no choice but to wait. We wait:
in traffic
in line
for a finished project
for a job
for a significant other
for a baby
for life to get easier
for purpose and meaning
for all to be made right once and for all
Beaune, France
As I focus on renewal in 2020, I love this quote by Charles Spurgeon, a 19th century Pastor and author from England, reminding me that we were never intended to wait alone.
“All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself… Even the trees which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw from the hidden treasures of the soil…As it is necessary to repair the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word… ”
I am writing goals, setting plans and am filled with the excitement of a new year, but I am reminded that what I need even more is ‘reNEWal’.
Renewing my mind by focusing on the things of God, not man.
Renewing my body with things that fuel it well to run the race.
Renewing my soul by asking myself often, how can I wait well?
Colossians 1 gives a helpful framework for waiting well even as we enter into this new year. These are questions I ask myself and invite you to join me in the process.
How can I wait well?
Be filled with the knowledge of God so that I can walk in a manner worthy.
Why would I wait patiently for someone or something I know nothing about? I wouldn’t. Think about the way I hear Him speaking to me. How do I view God: is it through my own experience or through who he says he is?
Bear fruit in every good work.
What fruit am I seeing from each of my commitments? Is it fruitful? Is it fruit that I desire? Is it fruit that is beneficial? If not, let it go.
Has something been taken from my life in this season? Through the painful pruning, can I trust that God is asking me to wait for something that will yield more fruit in time? Can I wait knowing that He fills that void?
John 15:4 reminds us that we cannot bear fruit unless we are abiding in Him.
Am I abiding in Him in my marriage? In my parenting? In my daily routine?
Seek out his understanding and wisdom, his counsel and his will, not my own.
Am I relying on the positive thoughts and motivations of man or relying more deeply on his promises through his living word?
What noise do I need to quiet in my life so that I can hear his voice more loudly?
Give thanks.
Do those closest to me see my life being propelled by a heart of thanksgiving?
Remember his faithfulness.
Write down and reflect often. Record the ways I have seen him act on my behalf. Speak of it. Ask Him to reveal the ways He is with me even when I don’t see or feel him.
Be aware of where my mind is set.
Is it on the things of God or on the things of man?
Be strengthened with endurance in the waiting.
Take heart, because he has given me an inheritance. He has delivered me from darkness. He has rescued and redeemed me from myself. He has extended to me complete forgiveness.
What else am I looking to for strength?
God, you have given us everything we need to wait well. Help us wait well together, remembering often what we are waiting for and giving thanks. Amen.