Waiting. When I was a child, it seemed like I was always waiting for something. Waiting for my turn in the bathroom, waiting to be picked up from school, waiting to be as tall as the Tweety Bird cut-out so I could ride the "big kid" rides at the amusement park, waiting for the next letter from my pen-pal, waiting to be old enough to drive, waiting to be out of high school.
Waiting.
I must have thought that waiting was something you grew out of. From my perspective, adults didn't have to wait. They had finally reached the point where waiting ended and living began.
I was wrong.
I am twenty-six, and I am still waiting. Waiting for a response to an time-sensitive email, waiting for my garden to grow (similar to watching paint dry or water boiling...this takes forever), waiting to spend time with my husband at the end of the day, waiting for prayers to be answered.
I had a conversation with a friend last night about the future. She is in the middle of a move to a different city--where a different life with different people await. What does the future hold? We traded possible plot-lines for this next phase of her life. Anticipation, excitement, intrigue, and romance filled the space between us. Of course we have no idea how the story will play out, but I believe it will have a good ending. Many twists and turns, some better than others, no doubt, but eventually "we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Life is full of waiting. But that doesn't mean that we can't live in the meantime. Life is more like reading a suspense novel than waiting in line to get your driver's license renewed (which let's face it, no one likes). When you're reading a suspense novel, you desperately want to know the end and you have some clues about how the main character (you!) will end up. But you have to wait until the end to know how everything tied together...even those little details that you thought were unimportant are clues of how God is working in your life. For your good. To give you a future full of hope.
What are you waiting for? What strategies do you have for remaining hopeful and cheerful while you are waiting?
