Early mornings…

photo credit: the1thing.com

Our daughter was only three or four months old. We had taken her on a short road trip to meet some of the relatives for the first time. When we put her down for her nap, we unpacked and rested a bit ourselves.

Hmm… seems she is sleeping longer than normal. This is strange. Is this ok?!? Normal?!?

As first-time parents, we went into hovering/panic mode. We didn’t want to wake her, and so we kept checking on her. Kept making sure our precious little girl was still breathing. We were anxious, to put it mildly.

And then… she woke up! Whew! What a relief! We later realized it was just her body’s reaction to a lot of new stimuli, being in new surroundings, traveling on a hot summer day.

A song I’ve been listening to recently in my Quiet Time — that time first thing in the morning when I spend with God, listening to Him, reading His Word, soaking in His presence — has intrigued me. It talks about how eagerly God looks forward to when I wake up each morning. Just as my husband and I did with our daughter.

Early in the morning
You wait for me to rise
Counting down the seconds
Until I open up my eyes
I hear Your invitation
You have been so patient
Lord, this is my reply…

I wanna walk with You
and talk with You
Hear You speaking
Feel You breathing…
Walk with You

“Walk with You” by Michael Bethany

I don’t know about you, but I usually don’t think of God EAGERLY looking forward to spending time with me. And yet as a Father who fiercely loves me, He does! He enjoys me! He delights in me!

For the Lord your God…
will take delight in you with gladness.
With His love, He will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

Having that mindset — that God delights in me, that with His love He will calm all my fears, that He will rejoice over me with joyful songs — is a game changer! Instead of starting the day feeling overwhelmed, defeated, unsure, I can embrace the unknowns in my life and be confident that I’m not alone. That God not only is with me, but also is wanting to lead, guide, and protect me. Just like we, as earthly parents, wanted to do for our baby girl.

The challenge to thinking this way comes with keeping my mind and thoughts focused on my heavenly Father. Throughout the day, a gazillion things vie for my attention, trying to get my focus off of God and onto me, myself, and I. Sometimes I fail miserably. But I continue to keep learning the importance of quickly doing a mental reset to get my thoughts back on track.

Early mornings. Those precious moments when God eagerly looks forward to being with us. May we encourage one another to listen to His voice, to spend time in His Word, and to be transformed by living life knowing how much our Perfect Parent delights in us. And together, we can have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Confessions of a gardener wannabe…

photo credit: author

My grandmother had it. So did my dad. And my sister. But me… well, it seems the “green thumb” gene skipped me.

A “green thumb” means you have an ability to make plants grow. A talent for gardening. It’s not that I haven’t tried over the years. Even as a university student, my interior design project included a room filled with hanging plants and lush, flowering plants. My soul is nurtured by the beauty of growing things: plants, flowers, basically anything green. And yet, as the above picture from our balcony attests, my good intentions have been rather futile. I often joke that anything that manages to grow/survive does so in spite of me… not because of me!

That poor plant. It once was thriving, covered with green leaves. Then the leaves started falling off until the plant was mere sticks — like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree! Undeterred, I kept watering it. Hoping against hope that someday growth would occur.

And it did! Slowly — ever so slowly — leaves started reappearing. But alas, we went out of town for several days and the hot summer sun claimed another victim. Without regular watering, there wasn’t the nourishment the plant needed to survive.

My plant died from neglect: no water, too much sunshine. A lack of being cared for. Looked after. Ugh.

Hmm… makes me think of some parallels to my spiritual life.

The Bible uses the imagery of God being a gardener in a vineyard (the vinedresser) and Jesus the vine. Sometimes the gardener needs to prune some branches to enable the vine to be healthy and to thrive. In fact, if you’ve ever seen a vineyard after it has been pruned, you’d think the vines, with their butchered branches, would never produce fruit again! And yet slowly, in due season, new growth appears. Healthy growth. Abundant growth.

We are the branches. We’re what gets whacked off, so to speak. And believe me, sometimes the process is painful! There are attitudes and habit patterns that need to be dealt with. And other “stuff” that hinders our ability to rightly reflect God to the world in which we live. “Stuff” that simply needs to go!

In addition, in order to continue growing healthily we “branches” need to be nourished. To be fed. To be watered. To get an adequate amount of sunshine. That’s why it’s important to be intentional in reading and studying God’s Word. That’s our food. Our nourishment. It’s how we continue to recognize when we need an attitude adjustment or need to deal with a relationship issue. It’s how we see life from God’s perspective instead of ours. It’s what shows us wrong thinking… and how to replace it with truth.

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament, chapter 1

If I want to bear fruit, never wither, prosper in all I do then I need to do some serious gardening in my own life. I may not have a “green thumb,” but I can take advantage of the resources available to me to have a healthy garden. How about joining me? And together, we can have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

You can read about God the gardener, Jesus the vine, and we the branches in the New Testament book of John, chapter 15.

Do you need an Aaron or Hur today???

photo credit: wayneforte.com

There’s an interesting battle scene in the Bible. To give some background…

An old man — the one credited with leading the nation of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt — has faced numerous challenges with those in his charge. There are quite a few of them — 600,000 men and an additional who-knows-exactly-how-many women and children! They had already seen some incredible things happen, like when God literally parted the Red Sea so that they could walk through on the dry riverbed — and then as those same waters flowed back, obliterating their pursuers.

This huge entourage then started walking through rough, desert terrain. For three days they couldn’t find any water, which is a HUGE problem in a desert, especially with so many people! Finally, they found some water — but it was bitter and so unable to be drunk. The people grumbled. In all honesty, I think I would have, too! Their leader cried out to God — and then another unlikely, incredible thing happened: he took a piece of wood, threw it into the water, and the water became sweet and able to be drunk!

Less than two weeks later they had another grumbling session, this time about the food (or lack thereof). They reminisced that life had been better before. “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!” they complained. “There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you [addressing their leader Moses and his sidekick Aaron] have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Once again, God provided for their needs in a most unusual, unique way: every day, for the next forty years, they would have sufficient nourishment. But only enough for one day at a time. If they tried to hoard their allotment it would be full of maggots and stink the following day. Yuck.

After this, they had yet another setback: no water… again! They grumbled, quarreled with their leaders, and asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” This time, their leader Moses took the very same staff that he had used previously when parting the waters of the Red Sea and hit a rock, which then gushed forth water.

The next challenge they faced was being attacked by a hostile nation. Oh, brother. As if their journey to what was called “the Promised Land” hadn’t already been difficult! This brings us to the interesting battle scene mentioned at the beginning… the leader (Moses) went to the top of a hill with his brother Aaron and Hur (someone we don’t know a whole lot about). Moses held the staff (yep, same one) in his hands, and as long as his hands were UP, the Israelites were winning. But whenever he LOWERED his hands, the enemy was winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him so that he could sit down. Then, Aaron and Hur — one on one side of Moses and the other on the other — held his hands up. The result was that his hands remained steady until sunset. And the Israelites won the battle.

Hmm… I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been in that kind of battle. However, there have been times when the challenges and pressures of life have been intense. Overwhelming. Times of feeling unsure of what to do next, how to respond to a problem, how to deal with a comment or criticism, how to not give up when everything looks hopeless.

It’s at times like this that I — we! — need an Aaron or Hur. Someone to be there with us in whatever we’re facing. Someone who may not even say anything, but just by their presence communicates a steadiness, strength that we desperately need. Someone who lifts us up so that we don’t grow weary or give up.

In addition, those in the thick of the battle are unable to see the big picture. They don’t have the vantage point of being up on the hill, so to speak (like Moses, Aaron, and Hur). God wisely instructed Moses to write on a scroll what had happened — ESPECIALLY for Joshua, who was the one on the ground waging the battle. He wanted to make sure Joshua knew and remembered what had happened that day.

That’s another reason we need one another… to remember the victories, the lessons learned, and yes, even the challenges themselves. The good, the bad, and the ugly are the very things God uses — IS USING — in our lives to make us the people we are today and will be tomorrow.

Do you need an Aaron or Hur today? Or could you be that for someone else? As we become more attentive to others in our spheres of influence, more attentive to what is happening in and around us, may that be the catalyst that enables us to have joy in the journey of this things called “Life!”

* You can read more about this story in the Old Testament of the Bible, the book of Exodus, chapters 13-17.

Retreat… necessary for survival!!!

photo credit: Cheryl Stinchcomb

Having grown up near the ocean, I LOVE all things related to the sea! Walking on the beach, swimming, sailing, water skiing (at least in my younger years) all have a way of refreshing my body and soul. So when a friend shared these incredible pictures earlier this week — and a life lesson learned from them — something resonated in my very core.

She and her family were at the beach here in Thailand (this is our hot season/summer, and so schools are on break). She shared…

I got to observe 15 species of crab this week…
Some were armoured and scary-looking, some looked soft and vulnerable, some preferred hiding in their shells to scuttling on the rocks, some colourful, some camouflaged.
All required some level of retreat for survival.

Life lesson from the rockpools —
there is space for all in this world and retreat is good!
The hermit crab should not try to live like the stone crab.
They are not made for it…
and yet still I push sometimes for the
hermit-crab people in my life to “come out” more…

Retreat is necessary for all of us,
but more for some species (people) than others.

Cheryl Stinchcomb
in “God’s Creatures in Thailand” Facebook post
April 18, 2024

The reason this resonated with me is because I sometimes find myself in a tizzy, anxious about one thing or the other; weary because of a busy schedule; becoming snippy, critical with those I’m closest to (translated: my husband!). What my soul is trying to tell my brain and my body is that I need to retreat… to take time to do something to nurture my soul. Something that can get my focus back on what is life-giving as opposed to feeling drained. Something that recharges me.

As a Christ follower, the primary way that happens is by spending time reading God’s love letter to me (aka the Bible). But in all honesty, the past few weeks I feel like what I’ve been reading has been going in one eye and out the other — completely missing my heart and soul. Instead of being recharged, my battery level has kept going down.

Cheryl’s “life lesson from the rockpools” reminded me of how Jesus — God Himself walking among man — sometimes felt the need to get away, to withdraw, to retreat.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed. – Mark 1:35

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king [after the feeding of the 5000], Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. – John 6:15

Hmm… if Jesus needed to do this, how much more do I!?!

My “life lesson from the rockpools” is that I need to MAKE time to do things that provide “retreat” from the busyness of life, things that recharge instead of drain my energy. This doesn’t mean to forego my daily times reading the Bible, but to be intentional in doing things like writing this blog — since it is life-giving for me! Another is getting together with a friend for a heart-to-heart/below-the-surface chat. I also need to recognize the importance of planning some down time, which has a way of refreshing and renewing. Proverbs 13:12 talks about this when it says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” In other words, having something to look forward to is also life-giving!

And that, my friends, is how I’m choosing to move forward so that I can have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

By the way, if you would like to check out more of Cheryl’s adventures, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/274029857018047/?ref=share

Doubts

Doubting Thomas by Carvaggio

Our family lived in Romania for a number of years. The churches there designated the Sunday after Easter as “Thomas Sunday,” a day to remember the disciple who had doubts about the Resurrection. He wasn’t present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, and so when they told him this good news he was skeptical:  “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.”  (John 20:25)

A week passes and then, when the disciples are together again, Jesus shows up and tells Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”  (John 20:27)  Thomas did what Jesus said… and believed. 

Doubts are a normal part of life, not just for Thomas, but for ALL of us. And yet God invites our questioning, seeking, skeptical hearts to honestly share with Him our concerns. And then, like Jesus graciously did with Thomas, He shows up and helps us in our unbelief… helps us to see Him as He really is. 

Sometimes it helps to verbalize what we’re grappling with to another person. We may not have all the answers, but often a listening ear, a caring gesture can be “just what the doctor ordered.” In the midst of our doubts, our fears, our confusion there is someone who truly does understand and care… our Savior and our God.

May God encourage your heart… especially if you are feeling like Thomas these days! And together, may we have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life.”

Silent Saturday

photo credit: mbschurch.org

Good Friday. Easter Sunday. But Saturday… I’d never thought much about the in-between day until recently…

Saturday, the day after the gruesome crucifixion of Jesus, His followers were nowhere to be seen. They were in hiding, fearful for their own lives due to their association with Christ. They were scared. Struggling. Undoubtedly feeling abandoned, wondering if all they’d seen and heard the past three years was real, was worth dying for.

The following article addresses some of the same thoughts I’ve been mulling over on this Silent Saturday, and so I’m sharing it in its entirety — a guest post, so to speak. As you read, may it cause you to have hope for those inevitable times of silence in our lives, the day “between the struggle and the solution; the question and the answer; the offered prayer and the answer thereof.”

Jesus is silent on Saturday… The cadaver of Christ is as mute as the stone which guards it.  He spoke much on Friday. He will liberate the slaves of death on Sunday.  But on Saturday, Jesus is silent.

So is God.  He made himself heard on Friday.  He tore the curtains of the temple, opened the graves of the dead, rocked the earth, blocked the sun of the sky, and sacrificed the Son of Heaven.  Earth heard much of God on Friday.

Nothing on Saturday.  Jesus is silent.  God is silent.  Saturday is silent.

Easter weekend discussions tend to skip Saturday.  Friday and Sunday get the press.  The crucifixion and resurrection command our thoughts.  But don’t ignore Saturday.  You have them, too.

Silent Saturdays.  The day between the struggle and the solution; the question and the answer; the offered prayer and the answer thereof.

Saturday’s silence torments us.  Is God angry?  Did I disappoint him? God knows Jesus is in the tomb, why doesn’t He do something?  Or, in your case God knows your career is in the tank, your finances are in the pit, your marriage is in a mess. Why doesn’t He act?  What are you supposed to do until He does?

You do what Jesus did.  Lie still.  Stay silent.  Trust God.  Jesus died with this conviction: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (Acts 2:27 NIV).

Jesus knew God would not leave him alone in the grave.  You need to know, God will not leave you alone with your struggles.  His silence is not his absence, inactivity is never apathy.  Saturdays have their purpose. They let us feel the full force of God’s strength. Had God raised Jesus fifteen minutes after the death of His son, would we have appreciated the act? Were He to solve your problems the second they appear, would you appreciate His strength?

For His reasons, God inserts a Saturday between our Fridays and Sundays.  If today is one for you, be patient.  As one who endured the silent Saturday wrote:  “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7 NKJV).

© Max Lucado, 2013

Last words… lasting words

photo credit: https://velocitychurch.life

I’m not sure what prompted the reminiscing… but earlier this week I started thinking about words or phrases I associate with certain people:

  • Things just keep perking along! (my mom — whenever we would call to check in on her)
  • I can put you in the canoe and give you oars… but you have to do the paddling. (my dad — as I left home after graduating from university for a job on the other side of America)
  • Blameless??? What does “blameless” look like??? (Nicole K. — during a Bible study years ago)
  • You can’t be your husband’s Holy Spirit! (Linda D. — in a study on marriage when I was a relatively young bride)
  • “Praise the Lord!” is a command… so tell God what you’re praising Him for! (Myrna A. — at a conference for college students at my first job)
  • We can’t live in a “what if” world. (my husband — shortly after we got married)
  • Only two things last forever: God’s Word and man’s soul. We want to invest our lives in those things. (my husband again — when we were newlyweds)
  • Sometimes you just need a good cry. (my sister — when we were teenagers)

Thinking of those words and phrases brought to mind some important things that Jesus said…

We’re entering into what is often referred to as Holy Week: the period of time encompassing when Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem riding a donkey (Palm Sunday), the Last Supper (when He celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples and then was betrayed by one of them), the Crucifixion (what is referred to as Good Friday), and then Easter (the day He was resurrected from the dead). Significant events. And so what He had to say during that period — His last words — is vitally important for those of us who are Christ followers.

Last words… lasting words.

Imagine what it would be like for YOU if you knew you only had a limited amount of time — just a few days — with those with whom you’re closest. How would knowing that impact what you would say? do?

Jesus gathered those He was closest to — His twelve disciples — for a meal. That’s not so unusual. But what He did during the meal was VERY unusual. Shocking even. He assumed the role of a servant and began to wash the feet of His followers. In that day and that culture, when walking was the main mode of transportation and wearing sandals the preferred footwear, a person’s feet would get dusty and sweaty when walking from Point A to Point B. The lowliest of jobs was that of the servant who would be tasked with washing the feet of those entering one’s home.

Just a few days before, Jesus had been hailed as a king. Now… He was washing feet. By doing this, He was communicating a powerful message to the twelve and subsequently to us: we who have placed our faith, our trust in Jesus have been totally washed/made clean. But periodically, we need to have our feet washed… to be cleansed of the sins that creep into our lives.

His actions also spoke loudly of what it means to be a leader… by being a servant. Being willing to stoop down, be inconvenienced. Being willing to be misunderstood.

Another thing Jesus did during His last days was pray for His followers — both those who were physically present with Him and those of us who now are embracing Him as our Saviour. His final plea was that we would be unified and reflect His love to the world in which we live.

I do not ask for these only [the twelve who were present], but also for those who will believe in Me through their word [us], that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

Jesus in John 17: 20-22

There were other last words… lasting words that Jesus shared those final days (you can read them in the New Testament: John chapters 13-17). But for now, I’m focusing on and mulling over these two examples and how they impact my life: being a servant and living in harmony with others/reflecting God’s love to those in my sphere of influence.

Take time this next week to reflect on who Jesus is and what difference He makes in your life. And may we encourage one another to heed those last words… lasting words. By doing so, may we have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Deja vu… COVID times two

The unwelcome symptoms were eerily familiar. High fever. Loss of appetite. NO energy. My-head’s-about-to-explode headaches. Only this time I wasn’t in the comfort of my own home. We were in another country, in a hotel.

Once we got back home, there was the familiar nose-swab, wait, and then see if anything shows up routine that confirmed what I dreaded: I tested positive for COVID. And then two days later, my husband also tested positive. Misery loves company, right?! We both had been vaccinated three years ago. We both had had COVID three years ago after being vaccinated — at least at different times that first go-round, which made caring for one another easier. Thankfully, this time his case was “mild.” Mine, on the other hand, took almost three weeks until I felt like my old self.

This deja vu experience evoked memories of what life was like during the height of the pandemic…

Our son was managing a restaurant in southern California back then. A peaceful protest against COVID restrictions unfortunately morphed into looting and destruction. A jewelry store across the street from his restaurant was looted. Another shop in the same block was burned down. There were some shootings. As a result, the restaurant closed as a precautionary measure.

“I’m OK.”

When we received an email from our son with “I’m OK” in the subject line this mother’s heart leapt for joy! How thankful we were that he took the initiative to check in with us!

His response reminded me of how one Sunday our pastor shared that the pandemic may change who we see as heroes. He asked,

How much do we value service/serving others?

Do we see serving others as being heroic?

He went on to develop the idea that our service is, indeed, an outflow of our LOVE for God and others. It doesn’t necessarily need to be the large, more visible things, but the “hidden,” small things… like guarding the reputation of others, common courtesy, being served/allowing others to use their gifts to serve you, hospitality, listening, bearing one another’s burdens, intercession, sharing the word of life with one another (from Richard Foster).

When our son took the initiative to check in with us he was showing common courtesy. He was serving us by showing his care. He was giving us the opportunity to bear his burden. In other words, his “service” to us was reflecting his love for us… and in my book, that’s being a hero!

Having COVID again has reminded me that there were some crucial lessons that surfaced during those days… lessons I don’t want to forget. And one of those is to be intentional in taking the initiative to check in with others… just to see how they’re doing. To offer a listening ear. To discern what’s really going on beneath the surface/beyond their words or actions. To seek ways to offer help.

It’s often the little things, the “hidden” things that communicate powerfully, so don’t underestimate what a kind word or an unexpected text or fill in the blank can mean to someone!

How might YOU take the initiative to serve someone today? This week? As we do this, I’m confident it will enable us to have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Worship??? IN the waiting???

photo credit: krazyinlove.com

There’s nothing like putting something in black and white for all the world to see — at least those who read this blog — that makes one… well, I guess the best word is accountable. Accountable to put into practice the lessons I talked about last time, lessons based on learning to wait… and wait well.

All week I’ve been mulling over something I shared at the very end of the post, the words from a song…

… I will worship in the waiting
when I cannot see the end…

“Waiting” by Healing Place Worship

Worship in the waiting.

Worship??? IN the waiting??? How in the world is that possible??? If I’m not mistaken, this hints at a major change in attitude as much as anything. Yikes.

Earlier this week I was reading in the Psalms — and wouldn’t you know, waiting was mentioned yet again!

I waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40: 1-3

Waiting patiently was not done in vain, but rather resulted in action. God heard! He responded! The outcome was being lifted out of the difficult circumstances the writer was in. AND having a new song, a hymn of praise, put in his heart.

I’d call that a major shift in attitude! Instead of bemoaning whatever was causing him to wait, instead of being critical or questioning or discontent, the writer patiently waited for God… and it paid off! That shift also encouraged others: those who saw what had happened in the writer’s experience also put their trust in God.

I had a text exchange earlier this morning with a dear friend who is thousands of miles away. She had had a heart attack a week ago and was back in the hospital. I asked how her anxiety level was… and she responded with brutal honesty how hard this has been. How confusing. How unfair (since she’s always been fit, eaten sensibly, etc.). How she felt her body had betrayed her.

What struck me with her honesty and vulnerability was how that stripped away any pretense, any trying-to-be-spiritual-when-your-heart-is-breaking-and-your-mind-is-reeling attitude. Like the psalmist, her crying out to God, waiting for Him in the midst of uncertainty and very real fears opened the door for God to use her in what I’m sure was an unexpected way — helping me to see some things more clearly:

  • The importance of living each day to the fullest. Jesus put it this way: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” (Matthew 6: 34)
  • The importance of verbalizing appreciation NOW… when the opportunity presents itself. “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3: 27)
  • The importance of recognizing that our days ARE numbered… and that they are in God’s loving hands. “The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength… Teach us to number our days aright…” (Psalm 90: 10, 12)

My friend shared that her new life verse is

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but GOD is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 73: 26

That, my friends, is how we worship in the waiting… by having our focus on Someone who is greater than whatever we’re going through, Someone who loves us and is eagerly waiting for us to call out to Him.

So… yet another tutorial on waiting. Another reminder that we need each other and that together we can have joy in the journey of this thing we call “Life!”

Wait!!! Wait!!!

As the youngest of three children, my oft-repeated refrain was “Wait!!! Wait!!!” My older siblings and cousins would leave me in the dust… like a slow-moving turtle who wanted to be a part of everything the big kids did but wasn’t fast enough to keep up. I was ahead of my time as a FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) personality!

Learning how to wait — and wait well — seems to be a lesson God has been zeroing in on the past few months. Unfortunately, I’ve flunked several of my “waiting tests,” but as a good teacher, He keeps giving me opportunities to learn, to grow, to put into practice principles that continue to surface through a variety of life experiences.

The main on-going lesson is with my vision. The last time I blogged was — gulp!! — November 4th. In all honesty, I kept putting off writing because I wanted to have a happy ending to that post. Instead… guess what?! I’m still waiting to have clear vision!! I have since had a second procedure to address the blurriness issue. From a medical point-of-view, everything looks good. I just need to… you guessed it! WAIT!!!

In addition to this in-my-face example, it also seems that often these past months, when reading God’s Word, the word WAIT pops up!

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Psalm 37:7a

Ugh. A double whammy. Be STILL. Wait PATIENTLY. 

My tutorials on waiting have also been emphasizing the need to be still, which in my mind connotes being at rest, at peace. Not being anxious. I picture a body of water with no waves, no current, no turbulence. Quiet. Tranquil. An inviting place that is life-giving.

Too often, my waiting is characterized by NOT being still. NOT being at rest. More like chaos with an inner unsettledness, all of which are polar opposites from what the psalmist is inviting us to do.

Be STILL and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

Being still and waiting — waiting well — are both rooted not so much in technique as in a person: God. Why a person? Because He knows me best. He knows what I’m going through, what I’m struggling with, what my hopes and dreams and fears are. He knows that I want to see clearly physically, but from His perspective, more important to my life is that I see clearly spiritually.

When my spiritual vision is clear, then I can rest in knowing that my loving Father is truly working ALL things together for my good (see Romans 8:28). I can be still, quiet, at peace knowing that His timing is perfect — even though it frequently is different from mine! The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah relayed God’s words to people in exile saying,

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

So… the lessons continue! The waiting goes on. But knowing that God is directing my steps, not playing games with me or deliberately trying to derail me (that’s what the enemy of our souls does!) enables me to have joy in the journey of this thing we call “Life!” May that be true of you as well.

PS

Even the music I have been listening to during my morning devotional times with God has had a waiting theme! Two stanzas from this song have impacted me:

… I will worship in the waiting
when I cannot see the end…
… If I’m waiting, God you’re moving…

“Waiting” by Healing Place Worship