I've been waiting a lot lately. My life is changing and my travels around Australia have paused for a time. I know this is part of God's plan. It has given me time to think about all the times in my life I've had to wait. You know what I mean: waiting to go to school; waiting to finish school; waiting to get a job; waiting to get married; waiting to start writing; waiting for an answer from the publisher. These are only a few of the waiting moments in our lives. There are many in between these big events.
Sometimes I become impatient with the waiting and want it to be over. I realised yesterday how much time can be wasted in waiting if I allow myself to be idle. What do I do with my waiting time? Do I let the circumstance control my every waking moment so that I don't achieve anything in that time. When I've written a novel and have sent it off to a publisher, do I sit back and not do anything productive until I hear from the publisher or am I pro-active and throw myself into a new project? I've thrown myself into another project and feel good that I've written the first draft. My waiting time has been well spent and I feel I'm serving the Lord in the way he wants me to.
I'm in limbo as I camp here in my caravan in Mackay and I'm waiting on what the Lord has in store for us here. I've made a conscious decision to live in the moment and make sure I use every minute to do something productive because it is easy to slip into holiday mode. Others in the van park are relaxing and taking time out. I do take timeout by walking several kilometres every day or swimming. This is my creative time.
Life is too short. I don't know how long God has me on this earth, so I believe I have to do all that I can with the time I have available because in a sense I'm waiting for the end of my life, too. so I've decided to always find something productive to do while I'm waiting, no matter where or what I'm waiting for.
How about you, are you caught up in the waiting game where you sometimes feel you're dilly-dallying and not sure where to turn? I'd like to encourage you to keep your eyes focused on what God has for you and pursue his purpose for your life with all the gifts and talents he has given you. Turn your waiting time into productive time and be pleasantly surprised how much more productive you can be.
Blessings and God's grace be with you all,
Laura.
Laura, I love your attitude. How quickly time passes without wasting it while we wait. Yet there are times when the Lord says, 'Wait, wait on me.' Once again life calls for a balance. May your waiting be productive and usher in positive news for you!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing your new story - but I'll have to WAIT won't I.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura. Thanks for your insights and thoughts. I've also been pondering on waiting times recerntly as I wrote an article in our church magazine about our own waiting time for a senior Pastor. Life sure has many seasons of 'waiting' doesn't it? I told myself years ago that I must learn to live in the present and enjoy the 'now' whatever the now was at that point in time without waiting for the next whatever! Sounds just what you are doing too! And as you said life is short and we need to make our moments count! Thanks for making us think and do and be! :)
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you richly during your waiting season! Anusha
Thank you, Laura! I very much identify with the urgency of being diligent about doing our Lord's work while there is time. We have a plaque on our kitchen wall, which says, "Only one life, it'll soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." ~ For me to live is Christ ~ Phil. 1:21.
ReplyDeleteI pray that your waiting season will have a very fruitful outcome! Margaret
I'm not a good waiter. I always have several projects on the go at once, so if one is blocked, I simply switch to another.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'm waiting for is to see if I can get my first novel published. While waiting, I've put a lot of work into a sequel. This might not have been such a good idea, because if the first novel isn't picked up, the sequel has nowhere to go!
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteWaiting is something I really relate to and like you say its so easy to become despondent and waste that time but who knows how long we have to serve God? Thanks for the encouragement to use the time wisely.
Jennifer Ann
Very sound advice, well worth taking, Laura. In our business, nobody can dodge the waiting aspect forever. We only have a certain amount of time on earth, so it makes perfect sense to make the most of every moment of every day.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I got this idea, Laura, but It's almost like Life is a great chessboard. God moves all the players into the place He wants them to be. And this rarely happens immediately. People's attitudes have to change. Situations take time to improve. Some things need to be removed. And all the time we are waiting. But it's not as if nothing is happening, because in the background, the Lord is working all the time. And like you've already found, you just trust Him and get on with whatever needs doing in the present. And in His time, may God grant you your heart's desires.
ReplyDeleteWaiting can be frustrating, but like you I don't like to be unproductive, so I move on to other things. But I have also found that letting go - putting it in God's hands - really takes the impatience out of me, and then He often surprises me with an answer when I've stopped looking for one. :)
ReplyDeleteWaiting is always hard and I long to be productive, fruitful and busy. Many times, though, I feel God has pruned me back hard so that I will develop into a strong plant that can withstand all sorts of weather. The blooms may not be there as much as I would like right now but the roots, hopefully, are going deep.
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog Laura. I always try to do something while Im waiting whereas I know people who complain and waste time while waiting at the doctors for example. I have a page on my iphone for my next book where I write ideas while Im waiting. I especially loved your last paragraph where you encouraged us not to waste our gifts and talents and to focus on the purpose God has for us! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post Laura. We all know that there’s a time for everything. We also know that God’s timing isn’t necessarily our timing. I’ve often had the most dramatic learning curve when waiting on an answer or direction. And the things I’ve learnt while waiting have been a great blessing for my life. There have also been times that the Lord has moved so fast I’ve wondered if I can keep up. It all just comes down to His knowing us best. And I, for one, am enjoying getting to know you better, Laura during this waiting (but incredibly productive) time of your life. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI seem to have so many things going at once that I don't have a huge sense of waiting, yet I know the power of waiting on the Lord. So at time I force my self to slow down, and take a moment to just be, while I wait onHim for fresh direction.
ReplyDeleteI did have long strechtes last year when the wait got a little bothersome, that's when I learnt to continually throw myself into new projects
Hi Laura, thanks for your encouraging post :) I agree it is important to live in the moment and make the most of the opportunities we have today, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for sharing your comments. You all have given me new insights into thinking some more about my waiting time. As always, God is in control and he will show us the way. May he bless your writing and your waiting time.
ReplyDeleteI am not a very patient person, but if I waited on positive news on everything I would never be writing. But do what makes you happy and for me that is writing. I even did some while eating breakfast at IKEA during the week.
ReplyDeleteMEL