Day 5 Coming Alive in Waiting
Friends… I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Kristin Taylor today. She blogs at www.kristinhilltaylor.com and you will love her writings. I had the joy of meeting her last month at our God sized dream team retreat. She heard I needed a ride, and volunteered to let me ride with her. We had never met in real life until that point, but our hearts connected and we had no trouble talking to entire trip from Kentucky to Branson.
Waiting is hard, yet it is something we all do. Every day, many times a day, really.
We wait for lights to turn green. We wait for people to return calls and extend invitations. We wait for the mail to be delivered. We wait for dinner to be ready and bedtime to come. We wait for the next season and the next adventure. We wait for babies to be born, job promotions to come, sickness to pass, people to understand what we meant, the necessary finances to come.
We wait.
Waiting was a theme in God making a momma. My husband and I tried for two years to get pregnant. The waiting broke my heart, but I have since learned I didn’t approach that season in the way God intended.
I waited for a positive pregnancy test like I was wasting my time. I didn’t draw near to God or seek out truth in the moment.
Recently, I was reading about Ruth waiting for Boaz to resolve the matter of caring for her and her mother-in-law, Naomi, in the proper way. In “Take Refuge,” a study of Ruth, authors Lara Williams and Katie Orr write about how waiting is active. “Wait” means to “bind,” which is interesting to remember while reading Isaiah 40:30-31:
“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
What if while waiting we were binding ourselves to the Lord?
I
n Day 7 of “31 Days to Coming Alive,” Jenn Hand prompted me to think about waiting again. Her words reminded me of how waiting is always present and an active part of our faith journey. “… as believers, we are ultimately in the waiting. We are waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of heaven. We are in the here-and-now, created with restless pangs of longing for the promise-yet-not-experienced.”
We are sanctified and perfected in the waiting.
The light will turn green. Your phone will ring. The invitation will come. Dinner will be marinated and baked. It will be time for rest. Spring always comes. New life abounds. Healing comes. God provides exactly what you need.
You know, I never experienced a positive pregnancy test, but God made me a momma anyway. It wasn’t in the two years my husband and I tried to conceive. Rather God made us parents after we surrendered our expectations and plans. Less than nine months after we stopped trying to get pregnant, our daughter was born. And then 30 months later, our son was born. God intended these two kids for us.
Yes, they were worth the wait.
I have no doubt spending an eternity with our Creator will be worth the wait too. Until then, let’s not waste time mourning our wait. Let’s live, embracing the here-and-now, knowing waiting is an active part of life. God works in the wait.
Kristin Hill Taylor lives in Murray, Ky., with her husband, Greg, and two kids – 6-year-old Cate and 4-year-old Ben. She can often be found trying to beat her husband in Words with Friends, playing games of Settlers of Catan with her best friends, listening to her daughter’s stories, or reminding her son to be careful. She believes in taking road trips, living in community, and documenting real life. You can keep up with her at www.kristinhilltaylor.com or follow on her Twitter.
Thanks for letting me share here today. 🙂 So proud of you, friend.
Oh, how He does work in the wait! God is good. Love your words and your heart, friend.