fresh flowers for October 28

What Are You Waiting For?
©2005, lani wiens
a fresh flowers original

We’ve been waiting for a number of things for some time. Most likely we’ll always be waiting for something I guess. Right now we’re waiting for:

1. The freedom to move
2. surgery for our son who has a heart condition
3. a new baby (at least we know when the projected end of this project will be!)
4. any number of hopes and dreams

For the last several years we’ve been waiting for help for our second son who has behaviour and development issues related to his birth–mom’s habits in pregnancy. Just this last week our waiting to see some of these specialists was finally over. We have no idea how these appointments will turn out or if we’ll actually be ‘helped’ by the experts but the waiting is finally over. It’s encouraging when you’ve been waiting for a long time.

Ten years ago we were waiting to conceive and then suddenly that waiting was over, too. Now we not only have one child but are awaiting number six. It’s hard to believe that God has blessed us in such a dramatic way, far beyond our imagination. God has used all of these waiting situations to mould us and change us into His image just as a potter changes and moulds clay to suit him. I’d like to share some of these lessons today that will, I hope, encourage you (and me) in our waiting.

The first thing God showed me is not to concentrate on praying so much for the circumstances to change but for strength and grace to endure the waiting. My heart’s desire is to learn the lessons God has for me the first time through so that hopefully I won’t have to go through the same thing again. Sometimes I forget what the lesson was and He gently brings me back, reminding me that some prayers can be answered more quickly than others.

The next thing I want to tell you is that the reason you’re waiting may have nothing to do with you! What an amazing revelation that was. It was so comforting to my heart. I am constantly looking for where I’ve gone wrong. How am I holding up this process? I’m always assuming that I am the cause of an unanswered prayer, there must be some sin in my life or some place where I have yet to obey. Then suddenly the Lord showed me that the reason I may be waiting may be that there are issues He is working on in another party involved or that some part of the situation is only half-baked, not yet ready for completion. Obviously, when God lays His finger on something that needs to change in me I must change it immediately or I WILL be holding things up, but it’s nice to know that it isn’t always about me and that prolonged introspection isn’t always necessary. When we finally had our first baby it was such perfect timing we couldn’t have planned it better. Kelly had just graduated and landed an excellent job. My job was becoming extremely stressful and difficult, Josiah allowed me to quit with a good conscience and in a good way.

Then just last night I learned another revolutionary lesson. How am I waiting? A speaker I was listening to at our church last night was relating a revelation that she found in the story of Abraham and Sarah. The Lord had given them a tremendous promise of a child and Sarah’s response was cynical (her laughter) and defensive (denying that she had laughed at all). The speaker challenged us to BELIEVE and not give way to cynicism and defensiveness. God speaks into our lives to give us a hope and a future and those promises are TRUE, they will happen because that is who God is, our job is to believe. I found myself repenting over my mental attitudes to waiting for our house and to some of my husband’s optimism in his waiting. I found my heart full of cynicism over that and several other issues. It wasn’t pretty. HOW we wait is an important part of our journey. Choose to believe.

I want to invite you to send an e-mail telling me what you’re waiting for. I’d like to send out that list to the entire group so that perhaps we can pray for one another in our waiting, encouraging one another to hang on to the promises of God. I won’t print your name unless you give me permission to do so, otherwise it will be a general list of things that we are waiting for as a group. The Bible says to spur one another on and I felt that this was something that we could do for one another. Send your ‘waiting list’ to my personal e-mail at laniwiens@yahoo.ca

I am so thankful for all those who have waited with me in the past and are continuing to do so today. Don’t give up now, just over the horizon is what you’ve been waiting for.