Where There's A Will, There's A Wait

Did you ever want something so bad that you could taste it, and someone told you, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way?”  I’ve found that more often the case is that where there’s a will, there’s a wait.

          My husband and I were married in 1993.  If I had had my way, our first child would’ve come in 1994.  The will was there, but, for us, God said, “Wait.”  We went through fertility testing and dozens of pregnancy tests before I heard God tell me to slow down.  My doctor wanted me to take a fertility drug, but neither our insurance nor our pocketbook was willing to foot the bill.  Ultimately, we didn’t sense God’s peace.  So, we waited.  Shortly after our 5^th anniversary God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl… no drugs required.  What a miracle!  Looking back, I can see His timing was best.  The Lord used those five years to prepare my husband to be father.  (He had never really been around a baby before.)  And, God lead me to start a balloon business out of our home.  He knew that a new business was going to take a great deal of time and attention that I couldn’t have given had I gotten my way.  No, my business had to be my baby for a time so that when Rebecca did finally come along I could have my dream of working and staying home at the same time.  I learned through the wait that His way was best and that He provides peace in the wait if you just ask.

         

          I am reminded of Mary and Martha when they sent for Jesus to come heal Lazarus.  They expected he would come right away, but instead, the good Lord made them wait.  Lazarus died in the meantime, but God received far greater glory when Jesus came and resurrected him from the dead.  Everyone witnessed a great lesson that day.  Jesus had the power to raise up that which was dead and give him new life.  He continues to do that today.

          Fast forward to 2011.  I’m in the holding pattern again.  Several years ago, I was given the chance to teach a ladies’ Bible study.  Given my background in Forensics, I was excited about the opportunity to speak, but a bit intimidated by my audience and my topic.  Anyway, I trusted God, prayed, studied, and prayed some more.  In the end, it was an awesome experience to be used by Him, one which got me “hooked.”  A couple of years later I was given the opportunity again and thoroughly enjoyed bringing God’s Word to another group of ladies once a month for a semester.  I began to realize a real passion for presenting His Word and giving encouragement to women through its practical application.  This seemed to fit my spiritual gifting and I could see how God had worked in me to shape me for such a time as this. 

          Here comes the big BUT….

          As often is the case, our ways are not the same as God’s ways and our  plans are not His plans.  (Isaiah 55:9)  In 2009, God orchestrated a move for our family across the country.  I had to leave the church I had been a part of since I first came to know Christ as a teenager.  We left, and I took my passion with me.  We’ve now been in Tennessee for almost two years and although we have found a wonderful new church to call home, the opportunity to speak to women has not yet worked out.  I find myself with all the will in the world but, again, waiting.  I know God has a plan for me, so I am patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) learning to trust that he is preparing me for something good.  I am determined to learn what He has for me along the way.  I don’t want to be like the Israelites in the desert that were so fixed on the destination that they missed the everyday miracles. 

This teacher has become the student once again, and I believe it’s a good thing.  Already I have learned more in the last month sitting at Jesus’ feet than I have probably learned in the past several years.  For me, the daily discoveries have already been worth the wait.

          Are you wanting desperately for something and it seems all you can do is wait?  Never fear.  God has not forgotten you.  He knows there is something better in the wait.  So, look for it.  Don’t miss it.  Just think of Paul, sitting in prison, waiting to get out and preach again.  What did he do?

He made the most of every opportunity by penning the epistles that we treasure so much.  That is what I want to aspire to.  Contentment and doing what God has for me, today, without worrying about what I wish for tomorrow.

Be encouraged…

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Philippians 4:11  ...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Psalm 37:7  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.

Isaiah 8:17  I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.

Lamentations 3:24-26  I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.


***This blog is being entered for a chance to get a scholarship to the She Speaks Conference.  This conference  is about women connecting the hearts of women to the heart of our Father God and that your heart is to serve Him and His daughters, as He leads.
To learn more about the contest or the conference, see       http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/03/how-christians-create-art-she-speaks-scholarship/re