In the Waiting

As you all know by now, God speaks to me through children. Besides one of my friends that He uses, God speaks to me perhaps the most through children. And with a new little man in my life now, He has another avenue to teach me through. 

I was watching this sweet little boy and his big sister Wednesday morning. After a long nap, a bottle, and a diaper change, Jack was up for some playtime. 

I laid him on his play mat and sat back to watch. With wide eyes and bright alertness, he stared up at the lights and music and the colorful stuffed zoo animals hanging overhead. He alternated between coos of happiness and little fusses of frustration as he kicked his legs. 

Within months, Jack will be starting to crawl. He'll be mobile. He'll be on the go when those knees hit the carpet and he'll be keeping up with his sister's travels around the house. But for now, he's stuck waiting until that time. For now, he isn't going anywhere. And that can raise some fusses and some leg-kicking. To not be able to go and take off can be frustrating as he'll soon learn. 

As I watched that little infant, I realized I could sympathize with him. In our journey with the Lord, we encounter waiting seasons. We experience times in our lives when we can't go anywhere, when we have to wait until God instructs us where and when to move forward. And we won't always "keep up" with those around us. Sometimes it might feel like we're left behind, like we're stuck on the sidelines watching as everyone else moves forward. And it's frustrating. It can be discouraging at times. It can bring restlessness when we want to be on the go. Sometimes these waiting seasons last a couple months, sometimes a couple years. 

But as I watched Jack, I realized that even as he could only lay there, he was preparing for the day when he would be crawling. He didn't know it but with every kick of those little legs, he was growing stronger. It's in the waiting that he's growing stronger and equipped for when he's on the go. 

Much in the same way, the Lord whispered to me, is how He uses waiting seasons in our lives. As in my own present waiting season I've continued to hear God reaffirm to me strength, I realized that it's in the frustrations and restlessness of waiting that He strengthens us for the time when He'll call us forward. It's in the waiting that He equips us and prepares us for that time. And the waiting isn't forever. Just as the season had a beginning, it has an end and when that time comes and He calls us to move again... we take off once we're on the go. Because we've spent months or years even having our strength, our perseverance, our endurance built for that moment. 

So for those who are here waiting like I am, hold on. I know the discouragement, I know the doubting, the restlessness, the difficulty and exhaustion, the frustrations. But our waiting season has a purpose. God's using it to prepare us and equip us for all that He has in store for us next. Stay strong; be patient. As a young woman I know reminded me, patience isn't only a virtue. It's a mentality, a constant mindset. Adopt it, walk in it, grow in it. Hang in there a little longer. <3