In the waiting

A while back I had the opportunity to go to a spa for a special massage and pedicure. After checking in, the attendant escorted me to a big room with a beautiful fountain and lots of comfy chairs. I was told this was “the waiting room” and to make myself comfortable while I waited for someone to come get me. And I’ve thought about that a lot since. Because although this particular waiting room was beautiful and peaceful, the waiting periods in our own lives are usually everything BUT those two words. Especially when you are in a season of waiting in your life for something to happen next.

This “waiting” is basically the place no one wants to be. Yet, it’s actually the place where we spend a lot of our lives. Mountain top experiences? Amazing! But they don’t last forever. Hitting a low in life? That may seem to stick around a little bit longer than those mountain top moments. But still, we eventually move on and find something that pulls us out of those low seasons of life and we keep moving forward. But in the waiting? That’s a tough one. Because that feels like a season in itself. And a long one at that.

We are a people and a society built on convenience. And waiting is NOT convenient. No siree. Whether it’s the drive through line for our favorite coffee, being on hold with customer service or even waiting in line to go the bathroom at your favorite amusement park (talk about torture). There is no mistaking that waiting is no fun. It’s full of too many what ifs, unknowns and time passed where it feels like nothing has been accomplished. 

And that just may be waiting for little stuff. But what about when BIG things hit hard? Like major life circumstances? Job loss, relationship issues, medical bills stacking up and you still have no answer as to why it’s all happening. So many uncertainties, but you do know one thing: you need a miracle. A miracle. Even the term turns some people away. I mean, do miracles really still happen? Should we even expect them or pray for them? And if so, how? How do we stay in the waiting and keep a hopeful attitude?

So many questions and honestly, maybe not a whole lot of answers. BUT, I do have some good news for you. Number 1- The waiting season doesn’t last forever (even though it feels that way). Number 2- You are moving forward and making progress even when YOU don’t see it (because, perspective is always more limited coming from ourselves). And number 3- YES! Miracles do happen and yes you can pray for them and YES you’ve probably seen them before but its time to remember them. 

Remembering and recounting what God has done in your life is, in my opinion, one of the best kept secrets that shouldn’t be a secret. When we experience something incredible in our lives, we want to tell everyone. But 6 months later when our lives are turned upside down by some circumstance? It’s easy to forget what we know to be true. 

So here are my encouragements for when we are in the waiting season and quite possibly waiting on a miracle to happen in our lives whether big or small!

First, REMEMBER! Remember where you’ve come from and the miracles in not only your own life but also those you have seen in other’s lives as well. If you have to say it out loud, then do it. If you need to write them down, what are you waiting for? Recount what God has done in the past and say “do it again Lord!” Because speaking it out, remembering, recounting those mountain top moments helps give us perspective to our current situation and allows us to see past the season of waiting and see into the season of possibility. 

In my own life, when I am struggling, I can list out miracles that I’ve personally seen and how God has moved on my or other’s behalf. Want to know a few? A brother with a brain injury in a coma for 1 month. Nothing. No good prognosis. Only prayer. And one day he wakes up and has full brain function and returns to normal life. MIRACLE. A sister birthing her first child at 29 weeks due to a severe complication they had no clue about. Born at 2 lbs15oz. and guaranteed to have long term negative effects. Now a healthy 13 year old boy with no health issues. MIRACLE. Another sister- 3 separate pregnancies, three separate issues. One stuck in birth canal, delivered not breathing and told would most likely have mental delays. The second had multiple complications in the womb including a club foot and kidney problems. The third diagnosed with complete heart block in the womb and predicted not to make it full term. All three? Healthy happy children. All three? MIRACLES. So you see, when I remember all of those- My faith is built up and I am instantly encouraged at what CAN happen even when I don’t see it yet. 

Second, SHARE THE LOAD! Do you keep a good thing to yourself? Absolutely not. You tell everyone! Your friends, family, neighbor, coworkers etc. You make sure everyone knows what good things are happening to you because it shares the joy and celebration. Well, same goes for the waiting. Share what you are waiting for. Ask others to pray for you and think of you and join you in what you are hopeful for. Sharing is powerful because it takes the load and weight of a situation, off your shoulders and distributes it to allow others to help you carry it. Others WANT to help you. Because we all have been (or eventually will be) through it at some point. You aren’t alone in your season but no one knows unless you SHARE the load.

And thirdly, PRAY. I mean honestly this should be the first one because it’s the most important. You may feel like a drop of water in a great big ocean. But the One who created that ocean knows you by name. And He knows what you are going through. And He is just waiting for you to ask Him to be a part of your “waiting”. So let Him in. And one of the easiest ways to let Him be a part of your season (and every season) is by praying. You don’t need to sound formal or use big words, just talk to God like you talk to a friend. Like we are talking now. Because God will rejoice with you, He will mourn with you and He will WAIT with you. He specializes in all of it. 

And just to solidify that thought, there is a great Bible verse that I think you’ll like. It’s a popular one so you may know it, but it’s encouraging nonetheless and that’s why people keep turning to it. Because it brings HOPE in the waiting. So go to the middle(ish) of The Bible, and you’ll find a book called Jeremiah. And if you flip to chapter 29:11-13 here’s what you’ll find: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me’”. 

God has a plan for you friend. A plan for you in those mountain top moments, a plan for you in those low seasons of life and a plan for you in the waiting. You aren’t alone. If you look for Him wholeheartedly, you will find Him. That’s a promise! He sees it all, knows it all and is covering you through it all. And that is the best kind of encouragement I could ever give you!

xo, Sarah