I don’t like waiting. I tend to be very impatient and have a bad attitude when things don’t go my way and in my time frame. Over the last 1o years of my life I have done my fair share of waiting. It’s been one long and painful season of learning and struggling to wait on God.
My marriage was falling apart. I was struggling to make sense of how something that I seemed so sure of wasn’t working out. It hurt to sit at home wondering what I’d done wrong. It hurt to hear accusations and empty promises. What I really wanted was a quick fix. God had other plans.
My daddy was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and given only a few months to live. It hurt watching him struggle with the fact that his past was literally killing him. It hurt to watch him get sicker and weaker and not be able to take care of his family the way he wanted. And it broke my heart when the time came to say goodbye.
It is really hard to wait. It’s even harder when the waiting hurts but over the years I learned that there is always a purpose to that pain and to the waiting.
Lesson #1: The Pain Reminds Us That We Need Jesus
I often ask “Why!” With so many hard thing going on in my life I was just overwhelmed with the pain and the loss. It was too much for me to bear. That’s when I realized this truth. Sometimes waiting hurts as a reminder that we need a savior.
No I don’t think that God is up in heaven waiting to bop us on the head like a game of whack-a-mole, but I do believe that he often uses touch situations to get our attention.
When the pain became too much for me to handle on my own I did the only thing that I could do: I turned to the only One that could help.
Lesson #2: We Never Wait Alone
Often I would find myself believing that I was all alone. I felt like God couldn’t hear my cries or come to my rescue. The truth is that we never wait alone. God is always right there with us. When I cried myself to sleep over my failing marriage, He was there. When it was time to say goodbye to my Daddy, He was there.
No matter what you are going through, God is right there with you!
Lesson #3: The Way You Wait Matters
This was really hard for me to wrap my brain around. In the beginning of my tough season I was angry and bitter. I had a bad attitude and was not pleasant to be around. It was awful.
One day I finally got a wake up call about my attitude. Scripture tells us to be thankful in all circumstances … this includes the painful ones.
Over the years I learned that I need to wait prayerfully, in worship and with a humble/teachable spirit. It’s no always easy but the more that I work towards that the easier it becomes for me to wait.
LaToya is a recovering perfectionist and control freak that loves old movies, good books and strawberry Hagen Daas ice cream. She traded in a law degree to homeschool her children and be home full-time to serve her family. Through trials of divorce, depression, death and more she has learned how to find joy in motherhood and God’s purpose and plan in broken circumstances. As a certified life coach it is LaToya’s desire to encourage and equip other women to do the same on her blog LaToyaEdwards.net
THANK YOU! I just love reading this article. I have tears in my eyes right now, but LaToya ‘s thoughts comforts me. It is so hard sometimes to be brave to wait and trust God’s plan with all your heart!
Alexandria *hugs*! I’m still learning how to wait with grace and humility. I think it’s going to be a life long journey. So happy to hear that you have been encouraged!