While We Wait

Are you waiting for anything?  I’m waiting for something.  Something that’s going to make me wait again.  And I don’t even really like waiting.

I ordered a new slow cooker.  Now I have to wait for it to come.  Why does that take so long?  Well, it should only be a few days, but it sure seems like a long time.  It will be great when it is here, though.  And while I wait I can find new slow cooker recipes.

Because when it comes, I’ll get to cook with it.  And then wait some more because slow cookers cook food for hours until the food is ready.  But the slow-cooked food will be so good.  And while I wait, the kitchen will be filled with the wonderful aroma of hope – hope of a delicious dinner.

So today I’m thinking about waiting.  Some things just take so long.  And we have to wait.  Like waiting in line at the store.  Waiting for pizza to be delivered.  Waiting for God to answer prayers.  Waiting for injuries to heal.  Waiting for a doctor report.  Waiting for someone’s heart to change.  Waiting for a job.  Waiting for a paycheck.  Waiting for Christmas.  Waiting to meet someone special.  Waiting for marriage.  Waiting for a baby to be born.  Waiting for a busy time of life to be over.  Waiting to go on vacation.  Waiting for nail polish to dry.  Waiting for a child to tie their shoes.  Waiting for an airplane.  Waiting for the weekend.  Waiting.

Some things just take time.  And we have to wait.  But often the things that we wait for are worth the wait.  Which is why I ordered a slow cooker instead of just cooking everything in the microwave or oven or on the stove.  Yes, dinner from a slow cooker will be good.  And worth the wait.  So what do we do while we’re waiting?

There are several verses in the Bible about waiting.  Here are a couple from the Psalms:

When David was confident that God would deliver him from his enemies he wrote, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord,”  (Psalm 27:14 NIV).

I don’t know who wrote this, but whoever it was knew that God’s Word would never fail.  Here’s Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his words I put my hope.”

Isaiah knew that God was always good, even when we are in difficult times of waiting, and he encouraged God’s people to trust in Him and gain their strength from Him.  He wrote Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

So, even when it’s difficult to wait, we can be confident and strong because we know that God’s Word will never fail.  Whatever happens during and after the wait, God will be with us.  Actually, God is right here with us even while we wait.

Love Is…

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone!

Shoe Saga Steps On

So, you know those shoes that I’ve written about twice now?  Yep, there’s more.  My shoe saga steps on!

To catch you up, first the shoes were very worn out, but I kept wearing them because they were so comfortable.  Then I found out that the store was still selling them and they had them in my size.  What a happy day that was!  But I also learned that maybe God doesn’t want us to just be comfortable all the time.  Oh.

Then that second pair of shoes wore out, but I made an amazing discovery:  shoe polish.  When I polished my shoes they looked like new again.  Another happy day!  And I learned that God is very good at making things new, including us.

So I wore my nicely polished shoes for weeks until I realized that they were looking worn out again.  Ugh!  I need to get that shoe polish out.  I haven’t polished them yet, but I did see someone at an airport having his shoes polished and again I discovered something.  As we all live our lives from day to day, our shoes get worn out.  We need them polished over and over.  In the same way, we need to continually be spending time with God.  We were created to know God, to be in relationship with Him, not to live life on our own.

Think about all those athletes that we get to watch now at the Olympics.  I’m sure that they didn’t always feel like training for their sport, but now I’m sure that they are very glad that they did spend all of that time learning, practicing and listening to their coaches.  What if we as believers spent time every day with our coach – our God who knows us and wants the best for us?  I think it would make a big difference in our lives.  We definitely see a difference in the way that those athletes perform their sports.  So let’s spend time training with our coach as he helps us keep our shoes polished.

Let’s keep spending time with God every day and continue to be filled with His Holy Spirit as we step on!

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize,” (1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV).