Lean into the waiting by Mary Folkerts

 

I should know by now that nothing beautiful comes without spending time in life's waiting room, but that doesn't mean I have learned to enjoy the wait.

We live in a world of instant gratification, instant meals, instant pots, instant facelifts, diets that work within a week (or we quit), and wifi that needs to be lightning-quick (or we complain). 

And yet, we know that good things take time. When the sun warms the earth in early spring, and green shoots burst forth in all their glory, I plant my tender seedlings in freshly tilled ground. I water and fertilize, dig out unwanted weeds, and carefully tend the transplants. And then I wait, for I know better than to expect a flower the next day.

We have come to despise the wait when, in actuality, it's in life's waiting rooms that most of our growth occurs.

I have been a new mom four times in my life, and each time we found out a baby was on its way, we knew that we had nine months to anticipate the child's arrival. The child needed that time to grow and develop in utero, and as parents, we needed that time to mentally prepare ourselves for the child's arrival. None of the nine months were wasted, even though the wait was sometimes difficult.

One of my most challenging times of waiting was as a single girl, waiting for "Mr. Right." I had my share of false starts and stops that left me feeling unworthy, uncertain and anxious that I would ever find someone to share my life with. But even this waiting had a purpose.

Waiting has become more complicated in this fast-paced world. We have come to despise the wait when, in actuality, it's in life's waiting rooms that most of our growth occurs.

Hindsight brings perspective, and often, we realize what we learned after our waiting period has seen its fulfillment. As writers, it's these times that become our inspiration. "Here's how I grew in the wait. This is what I learned–".

Could we lean into the uncertainty that waiting brings and write from the position of certainty that our faith in God provides? 

You may be looking at the new year ahead of you from the vantage point of a waiting room. So far, you see no good resolution, no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. How could we learn to wait better, and could our waiting itself become a witness to the world? Could we write about the waiting, in the waiting?

The phrase "lean into" has become popular in the last decade. The dictionary defines it as "persevering in spite of risk or difficulty." Could we lean into the uncertainty that waiting brings and write from the position of certainty that our faith in God provides? 

And here's where we come to the heart of the matter. Are we waiting for God to resolve our struggle, or are we waiting on the Lord? Writing about hope and faith in God while in a posture of waiting takes faith in God itself. Trusting not in the outcome but in His faithfulness.

" If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will save us from your power, O king. But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."

Daniel 3:17-18 NCV

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a Proverbs 31 ministries COMPEL Writers Training member and is involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s personal blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/