the wait

I saw an ad for a book recently entitled "What do you do with your wait?" by Mike Harder. In summary the book seems to discuss what we do when we are waiting on God for something - an answer to prayer, direction, calling, purpose etc.

I touched base with my girlfriend from Miami the other day who recently recieved an answer to prayer after years of waiting. Neither her nor her husband are US citizens. They live in Miami and have religious visas through the church they work for. She is German and he is Haitian, and while she is free to go home to visit her family in Germany, he has been unable to leave the country while waiting approval for permanent residency.

Imagine, they have been married seven years and he has been unable to visit her hometown, her grandparents, any extended friends or family. He has had to remain in the States while she took the children to visit her family. In the grand scheme seven years may not seem that long...but when you are waiting, just waiting, it seems to last a lifetime.

So now the wait is almost over. They received news that the papers have gone through and he will be able to travel about freely. It has inspired me to see them walk through this wait, adjust plans accordingly, with patience and trust in God's ultimate providence and plan.


I think about what I do with my "wait". How I respond in between the here and there. After all, is it really about getting to the place we want to be, or about the journey to get there? If it's about the place, then it seems when we get to Heaven God would just say "yep, here you are - way to go sport". Not so exciting.

I find myself getting so sidetracked on what it is I am looking for or waiting for, that I sometimes lose the lessons God is teaching me in the process.

I'm thankful for friends who inspire me to use the most of my "wait" and encourage me to take advantage of these times of uncertainty to seek God fervently, letting Him gently guide me and grow me. I am also thankful for friends who walk with me through the wait, providing laughter and relief in what would otherwise be stressful times ;-).