the waiting place

have you ever read Dr. Seuss' "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"? it' my favorite of his books, full of excitement and adventure in anticipation of the future. in the midst of all that excitement and adventure, however, Dr. Seuss describes "...a most useless place. The Waiting Place...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go, or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for a fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night...". well, you get the idea.

have you ever been in the "Waiting Place"? sure, we all have. if i were to bring this poem to life today, it might go something like this: "waiting for a baby to be born, waiting for an assignment from the Air Force, waiting for a weekend to come or a Monday to go, waiting for a husband or a better job, or a new outfit, a vacation, waiting for the next season of life, waiting for the kids to grow, etc...".

cute and catchy, but i respectfully disagree, Dr. Seuss. the Waiting Place is by no means a useless place. i have found that in those waiting times are the most valuable and meaningful lessons learned. it's when i "have it all together" that i'm not depending on Christ to sustain me or be my Lord. when i'm waiting, i'm a bit helpless, often confused, struggling to make sense of where i am and where i'm going. no, this isn't useless. this is where my solutions end and God becomes my all. Corrie ten Boom said it well when she said, "Perhaps only when human effort had done their best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work". amen!

i have been encouraged lately through various friends and i think these all apply to a "waiting place" time in life:

• pray specifically. this doesn't mean to provide a "specific" outline for how God needs to work in your life. rather, pray about your specific situation and let God demonstrate His specific working. it's amazing to look back and see what He's answered when you lay those specific requests before Him. sometimes "general" answers to "general" prayers don't seem as astounding.
• trust His grace. a friend recently quoted Elizabeth Elliott saying, "when we envision future obstacles, this doesn't include grace". we tense up and get scared when we think about the future and the uncertainty. when we walk through those times, He always provides His grace and allows us to not only survive those experiences, but pours out joy and strength to triumph in those circumstances.
• remember. how many times did God tell the Israelites to remember? numerous. why? because He knew they would forget. just like the Israelites, we forget God's provision. we forget that He is good and faithful time and time again. how do we remember? read His Word and see His sovereignty over His creation. the story is different but the outcome is the same: God wins and He is glorified! write down and talk about what He has done for you in the past. He's the same God he was 10,000 years ago and He will be the same God in another 10,000 years. He is God and He can be trusted!

what are you waiting for?