Life is full of waiting.

Waiting for the weekend or that perfect vacation.
Waiting for the return phone call.
Waiting for graduation.
Waiting for an answer about a job.
Waiting for a baby to be born.
Waiting for a diagnosis. 

The other day, I read Oh, the Places You’ll Go! to my kids and laughed frequently at his descriptions of life.
Here’s a humorous excerpt on waiting:

“Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.”

– Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

 

The Waiting Place

Life is full of waiting.

And there’s a lie that’s incredibly easy to believe while you’re in The Waiting Place. At least, it’s easy for me to believe. Here’s the lie: Nothing is happening while I wait.

During these years of Jonathan’s schooling, there have been times when I’ve caught myself thinking, “Once he graduates, then life will start again.” But then I easily start believing another lie: It doesn’t matter what I do.

I think, “It doesn’t matter what I do now because I’m just waiting anyway.”

Sometimes it’s easy to believe that because you’re waiting in one area of your life, the rest of your life is on hold as well. But we’re not static creatures, are we? In contrast, our habits and character are constantly changing—either for good or evil.

God is always at work.

Whether I consider myself to be in a place of waiting or not, God is always moving and acting in my heart to make me more like Christ. If I’m in a place of waiting, He’s using that to do His work.

If you find yourself in “The Waiting Place,” remember that you are becoming now who you will be when your waiting has ended. If I develop a complaining spirit now, it will not disappear when I finally obtain the perfect (fill-in-the-blank).

You are not in a holding pattern while this waiting is taking place. Rather, God wants to use this period of waiting in your life to change you to be more like Jesus. Be careful not to wish away the waiting and miss the work God wants to do in your heart. Come to Jesus with your waiting.