Waiting and Change

In case you missed it my word for 2013 – the one I know God gave me – is wait.

And I laugh because I do not wait well and God is clearly growing me as I wait.

The more I wait the more things change around me and the more I change.

Exodus 14:14 reminds me, “Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet.” The NIV says, “…you need only to be still.”

And I have seen Yahweh fight for me as I wait in stillness and quiet.

Don’t get me wrong. I cry out to Yahweh and ask for help. I seek His wisdom. And I wait until He tells me to act.

And there He fights for me as I wait and seek and pour my heart out to Him.

In the midst of this waiting changes keep rolling in.

Difficult changes as friends move and broken sinful people do broken sinful things. And make no mistake I am broken and sinful.

Wonderful changes as we have decided to homeschool next year and I approach this with fear, trembling, and lots of excitement.

Then there is the unknown waiting. The kind with what-ifs and not knowing how long this waiting will take.

And the wait burns and refines. Sometimes it feels dry and irritating. Other times it refreshes and nourishes.

Inside there is a bulging mass that seems poised ready to emerge, but it must wait. And I wonder what the new thing being birthed in me will look like. I wonder what it will mean and I don’t want everything to be the same and change scares me a little.

Is this what a caterpillar experiences as it prepares to emerge from its cocoon?

So I wait trusting God is in the refining, the struggle, and the refreshment. I wait for wings and for the new things to come. And I rest on His promises. Promises to prosper me and give me a future and a hope.

What are you waiting for?