No Waiting Is Ever Wasted (November 2017)

Does anyone enjoy waiting?  There's angst, anticipation, fear, frustration, and even anger at times.  We live in a microwave society where pretty much everything is at our fingertips.  So the moment we are forced to wait on something, there's a battle that rages internally, if not externally as well.  Our flesh longs for the instant gratification.  Personally, I don't wait well.  I've said before, even in front of the church (oops), that waiting sucks.  When we long for something with every part of our being, and feel as though we are forgotten when it seems to never happen or go away, we think that we've done something wrong or maybe we've missed a mark along the way.

Just as there are two sides to every story, there are also two sides to waiting.  In addition to the negatives above, there is also excitement, giddiness,  joy, and time of preparation.  Joy?  Yep!  Once I finish throwing a tantrum (or several), I'm reminded of the fact that there are freedoms in the waiting that aren't usually there when we get to the end result we have been longing for.  Things aren't always greener on the other side and that goal we've been aiming for won't complete us.  Seasons constantly change and if we wait with this attitude of misery, things will never get better.  The pain we go through is able to be used to encourage others when they go through similar things!  Y'all, nothing we have done falls under the category of being unredeemable by Christ.  I recently mentioned consequences to our actions and yes, those are real and sometimes excruciating BUT it doesn't have to be only painful.

There's an older Carrie Underwood song that talks about bridges being burned but also lessons learned.  Each moment in our lives can be used to encourage, love, push, motivate, inspire, and so much more.  Or they can define us as lonely, broken, lousy, failures if we let them. Sometimes the second set of options are easier but they're not worth the sacrifice of joy!  We get the choice of how we look at and approach and respond to situations.

It's no secret that I want to get married and (probably) have kids someday.  I'm not sure why I've gone through wedding after wedding of dear friends and snuggled their babies while wondering if that will ever be me.  Now before you think of how sad that sounds, know that I'm thankful because of the freedom I've had and the protection of God when it comes to settling. This continuous season of waiting has been a time of preparation. It's been hard at times but SO MUCH FUN at others!  This time is for me to continue preparing for God's calling on my life and to trust Him.  There have been doors opened for ways to love on people I never would have met and opportunities to encourage them in their waiting or struggles because why??  We weren't meant to do this life alone. We get to walk through this crazy chaos with people who can relate.  

Waiting is painful but it's never wasted. 

Keep moving forward.