Waiting

Here in the Midwest (and from what my Facebook and Twitter feed are telling me, the rest of the country) we are waiting to unthaw and for Spring to make it's appearance.

And on frozen snowy days like today, the waiting seems almost impossible and if somehow Elsa is as real as my seven year old would like her to be, and winter really will last forever.

And yes, the cold really does bother me anyway. (Scoring points with kiddos for TWO Frozen references!)

But, at our house, and I bet yours too, we aren't just waiting for winter to be a distant memory, we are waiting for other things as well.

To many, and some to painful to list.
But, we're waiting.

And while what I'm waiting for and what you're waiting for may look very different, it doesn't change the fact that waiting is hard.

Many times in my life when I've been waiting for something, I have this nasty tendency to take matters into my own hands and start trying to 'fix' whatever situation I may find myself waiting in.

And can I tell you, the results more often than not, have been disastrous.

One of the longest periods of waiting came in the early years of our marriage.

We struggled with infertility for six years before being blessed with our first son.

There were times in the middle of that waiting that were so dark and painful, but when I look back now, I see how God was there every step of the way-Oh I may not have always believed that or acknowledged it, but it didn't change the fact that He was there, working things in His will and in His way.

I may not have always understood, and I may not always understand now but I have come to the place of the belief. ..

“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Isaiah 55:8-9 (The Message)

And really, do I want a God I can always understand? No, I want to serve the One True God, who's ways are higher than mine not equal with mine.

But, in the waiting and the quiet that the waiting can bring, sometimes I lose sight of this and want to try and start fixing.

I'm waiting on several things right now. A couple of them, there's nothing in my humanity that would allow me to 'fix' them, so then I begin obsessing about the one I can.

 (I'm letting my crazy just hang all out there-surely I'm not the only one that thinks they can 'fix' things??)

And then I am reminded of this promise:

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

Waiting AND being still.  

Oh, I am not good at these two things. Perhaps that is why I get so many opportunities to try?

What are you waiting for today-

Kids to return to Jesus? Husbands to lead? Financial obligations to be met? Test results to come in?

An Apology that most likely will never come?  Forgiveness?

I've spent my fair share of time in hospital/doctors waiting rooms, and if I've learned nothing else, it's that it's easier to wait with company.

So, let's you and I sit today quietly, trusting that the battle is being fought for us and our job is to sit and wait.

Be blessed in the waiting,