Waiting...

You may remember that as I finished my last post, I got a call from my daughter-in-love to alert me to the fact they were off to the hospital, over an hour away from where they live--her contractions 5 min. apart.  But the end result was that baby Colt is still in his momma's womb, warm and cozy, apparently not as anxious to see us as we are to see him!  So we are waiting, somewhat anxious, but knowing that God loves this "little guy" (actually 9-10 lbs of him already) infinitely more than we do...

So I am mulling over thoughts on "Waiting".  Don't we spend a lot of our "earth time" waiting?  As a child I remember waiting for my legs to get long enough to ride a bike...waiting for the school year to end...waiting for my ice cream Sundae that Daddy promised to me if I did something(?), and I thought he meant that he would buy me an ice cream cone next Sunday...then as I got older...waiting to be sweet16 so I could drive...waiting to fall in love and get married...waiting to conceive while we went through infertility testing...waiting for toddlers to be potty-trained...waiting for husband to come in for dinner, as it lay spread out on the table getting cold...waiting for teenagers to come home from town late at night...waiting for wedding dates...waiting for job offers...waiting for financial breakthroughs...waiting for grandchildren (or should I say waiting for our married children to decide to produce some!)...and waiting for grandson number 3 to make his appearance in our world...lots of time waiting...And I failed to mentioned waiting on God in prayer for all the list above...and waiting that babies in the womb would be healthy and fulfill all of God's purposes for them...waiting for family relationships to be healed and restored...waiting for healing...waiting for God-given dreams to be brought to fruition...waiting and waiting and waiting...

So, this is somewhat of a tease for tomorrow...when I will continue this subject.  But while we "wait" on more, here is some food for thought from some of my favorite authors:

from Corrie Ten Boom in Not I But Christ:
"When God says..."No" or "Wait,"  it is because He knows what we do not know."  She wrote this as she waited for God to restore her speech after a stroke. If you don't know Miss Ten Boom's story, I highly recommend you seek out her books and read every one, starting with The Hiding Place.  She and her family worked in the underground in Holland keeping Jews trying to escape from the Nazis.  When exposed they were taken to prison, then concentration camps.  She knows about waiting...she alone of her family survived and later traveled around the world sharing Her Lord, her message of God's mercy, and how He was always with her, and allowed her to forgive her tormentors in the concentration camp.  From this letter, written in 1944 while in solitary confinement, she wrote..."Dear ones, I have asked the Lord to bring me out of this prison.  He answered: 'My grace is sufficient for you.'  I know that I will be here not one minute longer than God thinks necessary for me.  I can wait for His time.  I have adjusted myself to the lonesome life, but I am not really alone, for I have such a blessed fellowship with the Lord.  I talk much with my Savior.  I receive a deeper insight into time and eternity.  I am ready to live and ready to die..."" (italics mine)


from Ann Voscamp, One Thousand Gifts:
Chapter 4, "A Sanctuary of Time"....in describing her thoughts during dinner, talking to her six children about eating too fast..."'My Grandma Ruth would shake her head, disgusted at me.  Like this.' And I show them and I wag my finger too, just the way she did, and they grin chocolate... She'd say , 'My lands, child! That is no way to eat.  It took time to make this meal.  And you'd better take some time to taste it.  Slow down, like so.'  Then she'd chew slow and deliberate like. And tell me again, so I'd remember, 'Food is meant to be savored.'"......and later in this chapter..."When did I stop thinking life was dessert?......Life is dessert---too brief to hurry........'Wherever you are, be all there' is only possible in the posture of eucharisteo.  I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks, and see God." (italics hers)


...more tomorrow...