While I'm Waiting...

There’s a song that I really love and the lyrics go something like this “I’m waiting, I’m waiting on you Lord, and I am peaceful, I’m waiting on you Lord and it’s not easy, but patiently I will wait...I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience, while I’m waiting…I will serve you...I will worship...while I wait..I’ll be running the race, even while I wait.

Over the last four months, this is the lesson I’ve been learning, to trust and to wait. I decided in June to become more surrendered to God and just to let Him lead. For years I never really understood what this meant. I would think to myself, “What does this mean?” “How do I let God lead and how do I know I’m letting Him lead my life?”

I think we all want something to happen, whether now or in the future, we all hope for something (or many things). As parents we may hope that our children grow to love God and one day choose to follow Christ. As married people, we may hope to have children one day (and healthy ones too!) and we hope to have lasting marriages full of love that never ends. As singles, we may hope to have successful careers, get married, have kids, and the list can go on and on! All of us hope for something. All of us wait for something. The question is how do we wait? What do we do as we wait?  Well, maybe as we “wait”, God is actually preparing us for that very thing we hope for. Maybe He’s molding us into the people we need to become so that our hope can be all that it can be and much more!

Last weekend I had the honor of attending the wedding of a dear friend in Virginia. As I witnessed this wedding, I noticed something special in both the groom and the bride. Their gratitude for one another was shining bright in the joy of their smiles and their tender gaze. As I heard their story, I realized that they also waited, and as they waited, God did amazing things in their lives. God molded their hearts and characters into the people they now are. Now they are perfect for each other, but it took time and experiences (some hurtful ones and some joyful ones) to appreciate each other the wait they did on their wedding day. Their first kiss was on that day. That was something else that was very special and that I personally believe we should all aim for as singles.

I was also able to travel with three other special sisters and friends and we got to bond in ways that we would never have done had we not taken that trip together. We met up with some dear friends from Mass. and Connecticut and made more great memories together. We went to the church service in Northern Virginia and met some great people and we saw old friends as well. Then we drove to Baltimore to hit the batting cages and played mini-golf. We celebrated a special brother’s birthday and then had a nice breakfast together the next morning. We even got to walk the pier/marina area nearby and it was such a gorgeous day!

So this is what I do while I “wait”. I live my life loving my family/brothers/sisters/friends/others. I serve my God in different ways, whether it’s by encouraging others, being there when others need me, teaching others about Jesus, and sharing my experiences and things I learned in my life so that others can be strengthened and inspired. So in essence while I “wait” I’m actually living my life, the story that God already wrote for me (Psalm 139:16).

A very special person recently shared this scripture from Romans 15:13 with me  and it goes like this “ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Amen!