I can’t tell you how often I try to tell my children to take a deep breath and wait JUST A FEW MORE MINUTES. They want something, but of course, I can’t get to it right that second. I say, ‘Be patient. It won’t be long and I’ll help you.’ Read on to find how God has used this to remind me of my own struggles in the waiting room.
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Waiting Sculpture by Nnamdi Okonkwo
They Need it NOW
For my children, one or two minutes of waiting is PURE TORTURE.
- They are miserable
- They are restless
- They are helpless
- They will DIE if they don’t get that thing right. this. instant.
My URGENT Needs
Trying to stir up some sympathy for their impatience, I tried to think of all the things that I want in my life RIGHT NOW.
- Direction for the future
- Help in sorting out community and church life here
- Well behaved children
- A marriage in which we’ve worked out all the ‘kinks’
- A more comfortable financial situation
Over the past few years, I’ve sometimes wondered what God’s doing up there. We’re asking for help or direction or provision and often I feel like the little child with my neck craned as much as possible,trying to see what He’s doing up there
All the while I only hear Him say, ‘Wait. I’m coming to help you. Just a few more minutes.’
When Five Minutes feels like Five Years
From an adult perspective, my child waiting five extra minutes for help or a favor is no time at all. FIVE MINUTES? Anyone can wait that long. So, her carrying on seems ridiculous to me. ‘Don’t you understand? I’ll be RIGHT THERE.’
And so, I’m sure God’s understanding compared to mine is infinitely more great. I’m thinking, ‘FIVE YEARS? Are you kidding me? I can’t wait that long. My life will practically be over by then.’ My carrying on must seem ridiculous to God. ‘Don’t you understand?’ He says, ‘I’ll be RIGHT THERE.’
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.Psalm 90:4
The Fruit of Waiting
Watching my little girl when she becomes impatient reminds me how much GOOD can come from waiting a little bit.
- She learns HUMILITY-that the world does not revolve around her every need or desire
- She learns PATIENCE-the ability to wait and watch until we’re able to meet her request
- She learns CONTENTMENT-sometimes during the waiting, she completely forgets her request and finds something else to enjoy. the waiting time provides her a chance to better assess what she needs/wants
- She learns TRUST-she has to believe that I really will retrieve the item in DUE TIME, that I love her and have her best interest in mind…and that I’m going to meet her needs and desires in the best way possible
So, here I am with God…asking again for my needs and desires and still hearing Him say, ‘Wait.’ And so, I’m hoping, just as I do for the little ones that the waiting will increase my humility, patience, contentment and trust.
And I’m reaching for the book or cup or toy for my little one, trusting God is stretching His strong hands across time to meet me in my waiting hours.
Your Turn
What are you waiting for? What lessons has God taught you in the waiting minutes of your life?
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
So true…I am currently waiting on the Lord to show me what He will have me do in this upcoming new season of life. Waiting is so hard…I want to know His every plan. But I know…I know, from past experiences that through the waiting I learn about patience, I learn that maybe it is best for me to not know what God is up to b/c perhaps I would try to run ahead. I have tasted (merely tasted!) the enjoyment and beauty of waiting for my Father to move me. I want to enjoy these times. I want to enjoy waiting at His feet, listening to His sometimes seemingly small voice to lead me. I remember when I was little I would ask my mom for something, say, a cookie, and it would take her a while to respond. And then she would say “maybe, we will see after dinner.” Instead I would take charge, climb up on the counter, get a cookie out of the cabinet, actually 5 cookies probably, and then feel sick, and not want to eat dinner. Sometimes I would get hurt jumping down from the counter! Such is life now…when I go ahead of God I am doing “what I think is best for me” and boy that almost always ends in some craziness, some turmoil that makes me feel even more out of control and a lot less at peace than placing my trust in my Father’s hands.