the waiting room
We just finished a series called The Waiting Room at my church.
Wait a minute. I need to sidebar for a moment. Did you hear what I just said? “My church”!? I haven’t said that phrase in a very long time. Aside from our humble “services” as a ministry family, I haven’t been a part of a church I could call my own since I graduated high school. (Ages ago!) And my life has revolved around leading ministry events, not just participating in them. After over a decade on the mission field, to soak in corporate worship that I had nothing to do with running behind the scenes… you just can’t put a pricetag on that.
I digress.
Back to The Waiting Room. The messages were so good and so timely for me. Here are a few thoughts I scribbled down —
- I want to be more overwhelmed by God than by my circumstances. But that won’t simply happen on its own.
- Do I love the Promiser more than the promise?
- When what I’m waiting for becomes what I’m hoping in, I will be disappointed. Every time. Even when I get what I want.
- My God is faithful, His words are true, and His ways are just. My hope should only be in Him.
- What would change in how I think, talk, and act if I were fully confident that this season isn’t so much about waiting as it is about God preparing me for the next chapter?
Are you in a season of waiting? For what?
Digging deeper, how ’bout the question in the last bullet-point?
only if this preparation didn’t include flame throwers.
I have been thinking all summer about what comes after I graduate. There are things I really want, but thank you for the reminder that while I may hope for these things, my hope is in God.
@atangie says:
Those are some great nuggets. It is so good to hear you talking well about your church.
To answer your question: yes. The adoption has been a character developing process all around. I have fell flat on my face during a few pop quizzes over the last few months. That position affords for some killer prayer time, though. So it is all good, even the ‘bad’ parts.
What you say about this ‘waiting room’ being a time for our Father to mold and shape us in preparation for the next step is so true. To be aware of that might not make the process easier, but it will make it more purposeful. We see it time and again as a pattern of the people in the bible. Joseph went from pit to prison to palace. Moses went from wilderness wanderer to fearful freedom fighter. Mary went from a teenage pregnancy to honored mother.
I am so thrilled as I anticipate the beauty that God is pulling from the ashes of your life. You are a glorious testimony of the faithfulness of our Lord, Alece.
@gritandglory says:
i’ve re-read your last sentence multiple times. i can’t wait to see/know/believe that to be true!
I totally agree with what @ngie said… I sang a song at church today, I am sure you have heard it. I trade these ashes in for beauty… YOU ARE, regardless of how you are feeling, YOU ARE a glorious testimony of the faithfulness of our Lord. I have been really struggling with some things lately in my heart. And I am just reminded of the things that God showed Joseph while he was young, came to pass, but look at the “crap” he had to go through. I am sure at times he thought, “Lord, seriously! Come on! This isn’t even close to what you put in my heart”. But, look, in a matter of a day things changed. Sometimes I look back and I think, man, it felt like my life was ending, I couldn’t breath, I was in so much pain in my heart. But, that season is over. All things are seasons. And if we can just praise him through the tough and the easy stuff, we will make it through. Praise God for his mercies that are new every morning.
@gritandglory says:
i LOVED reading your input on this, patricia. thank you!
@ventigrace says:
I love that you said “my church”…
I love that you’re in a place where you’re able to really receive. Sometimes it seems the people who give the most have the hardest time to receive. I believe He’s giving you full permission to just sit at His feet during this season.
You asked:
“Are you in a season of waiting? For what?”
- For more of God. For more of what I think I’m supposed to be – and want to be – in Him. Waiting for the next chapter to begin.
“What would change in how I think, talk, and act if I were fully confident that this season isn’t so much about waiting as it is about God preparing me for the next chapter?”
- I believe I’ve been in a time of preparation for awhile. I just wish I had less anxiety about the (gulp) refining fires to get to where He’s taking me that I think are coming. Is. 48:10 is the Scripture speaking to me right now.
Really liking this imagery of God’s waiting room, the more I meditate on it.
Why yes, I AM in a season of waiting, thanks for asking! :) Seriously, though, there must be a whole lot of us in the waiting room right now, because I am seeing this message EVERYWHERE!
“When what I’m waiting for becomes what I’m hoping in, I will be disappointed. Every time, even when I get what I want.” Them’s some good words! I am waiting, waiting, waiting for my house! We have been in the process of building our house for about 5 years! (We’ve lived with parents, in-laws, and in an apartment above our garage. (Still there)) And while some days I struggle with wanting to be done and settled, I am learning how to be content with where I am and realizing that my HOME is where I make it! And that His grace is sufficient for me!
so true…so true with what my husband and I are facing. I know God is prepping us for something big…It’s so hard to be patient and wait to see what that is!
“While I’m Waiting’ is a great song to go with this!
@etsetara says:
right now i’m waiting for my parents blessing on our engagement.
it’s been a difficult summer, and i’ve come face to face with the reality that they might never approve. this leaves us with a very painful, disappointed “what next?”
as for the second, i would say that i would live in hope, knowing that God has the days lined out for us…and i would try to be really aware of what i’m supposed to be learning.
alright, alright. i realize that i should change all of the “would” ‘s up there to “will” ‘s!
thanks for helping me process.
@gritandglory says:
congratulations on your engagement. at the same time, i’m so sorry for your parents’ position. i can’t imagine how hard that has been for you.
(feel free to email me, tara — alece@gritandglory.com)
Mmph. God preparing me for the next chapter…? I don’t know. I have been praying through some stuff as I have been reading/thing through some Mother Teresa writings and she is talking all about how it matters not what is happening all around you/me/whomever because when God is calling you to do something then you kinda just need to put your head down and do it. But what tends to happen is you start to work and then something happens or comes against you in the situation and you get distracted or an obstacle comes into play and then you become focused on that instead of whatever the original thing God called you to do or be a part of. I get so distracted by all the shinny things. I then end up in sin because I talk about all the “wrongs” I have been exposed to along the way or what has been said or done to me and then crap – nothing ever gets done. But she is saying that none of that matters. If we are obedient and surrender to Him – then whatever…the work will get done. I hope my character [is] developed and that He is satisfied with the result.
Oh goodness, yes, I’m in a season of waiting. Or … possibly fighting. Are they the same thing? I guess not. So maybe not. But kinda. Waiting for the enemy to be vanquished, yes. :)
So glad to hear you have a place you can soak in! Such a blessing. :)
@mallyflip says:
It seems like God always has me in a waiting season. Patience is the number one thing that He LOVEEEEEESSSSS to teach me.
I am currently waiting to go to Japan to start working as a teacher. Something that I have wanted ALLL my life. It is just 6 looonng months away.
I’m not sure how to respond to the bullet. I guess I would be happier and becoming more prepared to live over seas.
hmmmm
@moweezle says:
I feel like I am always in the waiting game!!! Ish! I love the bullets you wrote….good stuff!
@traceepersiko says:
I feel like my life is entering the second waiting room. You know the room that you don’t realize is a waiting room. When you go to the doctors office you wait in the “waiting room,” but i always forget that even when my name is called to go back i then enter the “second waiting room.” This room is where it’s just me waiting on the doctor to come in, but that could take forever. The unspoken second waiting room.
I feel like i have the dream. Now I am waiting for the finer details of the vision to form….the second waiting room…sigh….
@gritandglory says:
the unspoken second waiting room is so hard because it feels like a mirage.
i’m rowing while you’re sitting there buck nekked except for your napkin gown.
@traceepersiko says:
I’mma bout to start up an icecream social for how many people seem to be in the waiting room!!
Wow, Alece. I need to write these down and THINK about them! Thanks for sharing!
Waiting for our house to sell since we already moved to another state. I feel very at peace that God will handle it in His time, but I still hope it’s soon! We were prepped for this whole process (without knowing it at the time) by a DVD series our small group at church watched together. Chip Ingram’s “God as He Longs for You to See Him.” SO. SO. GOOD. God is holy. God is wise. God is GOOD. I think I need to read the book so it’s fresh. I’ve been reading through Exodus lately, and while I can’t say it’s making me feel warm & fuzzy, it is reminding me that our God is really, really big. Huge.
@chrystieecole says:
Um…so, wow! I loved this. I have definitely felt as though I have been in a waiting season. I especially loved this point:
“When what I’m waiting for becomes what I’m hoping in, I will be disappointed. Every time. Even when I get what I want”
As far as how my thinking and actions would change if I believed I were not in a waiting place but more a place of preparation for what God has planned for me…well, that is a big bit of truth to chew on. I think everything would change. I would move from a living my life in a holding pattern to a place of truly living life. I would move from an attitude of melancholy to an attitude of joyful expectancy. I would want to make sure I was alert to all of the lessons God was teaching me as He prepared me for the plans He had. I would live in breathless anticipation of every moment.
Sounds like I need to ask God to help me overcome my unbelief!
Thanks for sharing this! Awesome!
@gritandglory says:
“breathless anticipation of every moment” — mmmm… that whole paragraph of yours was so great. i, too, need to ask God to help me overcome my unbelief in this area. i want to live each day fully confident that He is preparing me to give Him maximum glory in the next chapter of my life.
“What would change in how I think, talk, and act if I were fully confident that this season isn’t so much about waiting as it is about God preparing me for the next chapter?”
wow this is good! i have been staring about my computer screen for the past 45 minutes just soaking in this question. wow. i’m ashamed at my unbelief.
@gritandglory says:
i know, right? so SO convicting.
In a season of waiting? absolutely! trying to take next steps, yet holding back not wanting to jump forward to something that is not God’s plan because I am impatient…yup, am right there
Waiting vs next chapter? Great question–I keep reminding myself that exact thing…what if I’m supposed to learn something? What is that something? Am I waiting on God to work on someone else? I think it’s helped me with self-awareness to everything I do…not only to look for what to change, but also to look at what, in that moment, I’m supposed to enjoy or see. It definitely changes perspectives!
We are waiting for work and standing on the words He has given us through His word and through His people. It’s amazing to me how God moves and changes us through the wait. How He gently stretches and pulls us (even though sometimes it feels overwhelming). What I know is that I want what He has and I have seen before that it is better than I could ask or imagine. I want His idea not mine. I think where I get stuck (and it aggrevates me to no end) is in the waiting. That is where the practice of keeping my eyes focused on Daddy is, that is where the honing and the anticipating and the fighting off of fleshiness and satans lies is. That is where the battle is. But, lined up next to God, it is a molehill, not a mountain.
I remind myself, just like I’ll remind you, I am not an orphan or a slave, I am a daughter of the King and I am worthy, by Jesus precious sacrifice, to receive and enjoy all the benefits He has for me. Satan can only steal that if I allow him. I am praying for me to remember who He says I am and Whose I am … I am praying that for you, too.
@gritandglory says:
who and Whose i am. amen!
Waiting room….in YOUR Church. I’ve just landed on your blog for the first time and I’m most moved by your words. First of all, it’s so hard to understand how we need church; true Koinia…community in Christ. If that part of our Christian journey is missing we struggle so much more than God ever intended. Glad you are connecting. Whatever pain you must go through when people act like people; it will be worth it.
Secondly, I know the loneliness….God surely knows. In this modern age I think we don’t believe we are ever to feel pain, loneliness, etc. But that doesn’t line up with any true wisdom. Jesus showed me He understood loneliness and friends not getting it. Remember the Garden of Gethsemane and His truest friends fell asleep while He was pouring His heart out to Father God? He knows…I know He knows.
One gift that comes out of loneliness is God transcends it into beautiful life giving solitude. When I realized the difference in loneliness and solitude life became vibrant and abundant for me. Now, I steal away by myself for solitude if life begins to close in on me.
Keep writing……..your words breathe life.
@gritandglory says:
welcome to the grit, kay. and thank you for your beautiful words of truth.
@danielleH says:
Wow. Dang.
That third statment hit my heart spot on. I’m gonna write it down so I dont forget.
we’ve been so desiring ministry lately, feeling like that season is so near, yet God has been speaking to our hearts that He wants Him and prayer to be our foundation, not ministry. We don’t want any Ishmael’s…. It is such a good heart check for me to make sure I am desiring to know, love and be God over serving God.
Shane and Shane lyrics: Who told me serving You replaced me knowing You?
@gritandglory says:
i so love your heart.
and that lyric??? man… so good.