I am trying to get warm after sitting through a slow drizzle at my grandson, Tayden’s, first spring baseball game. Brr! I love to watch the kids play, but even my blanket wrapped around me didn’t keep all that north wind and those cold rain drops from giving me a chill. We must all be in one thought by now in wantiing spring to really arrive and come to stay! Those who have acres to plant surely have to focus on patience as each rainfall extends that day of planting even further on the calendar.
It takes faith to weather such times of waiting. It helps for us to rely on our memories of earlier years when these same wet days finally gave way to drier weather and planting and harvest happened. We know there is a cycle, and that because we’ve experienced late spring planting before, we believe this too shall pass. However, being in the middle of the “wait”, is not always easy, and sometimes downright unbearable.
We are really waiting on God, aren’t we? There really isn’t much of anything we can do to control the weather. Or a lot of the large concerns we have in life for that matter. I Peter 5: 6-7 reminds us in this way: “ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” It is easier said than done to “give our worries and great concerns to Him”. The following writing is encouraging to me….maybe it will be to you too, when you find yourself “waiting” for an answer to come.
Remember
A warm letter from a friend. A compliment
from my boss. An unexpected refund. A
comforting Scripture. These arrive as God’s
good gifts to me. But they usually get
overlooked while I’m focusing on what feels
like…at least to me…insurmountable trouble.
Always, it’s trouble that God hasn’t solved yet.
Often, I complain about His delayed response.
But really, my myopic vision isn’t fair to Him.
If I lift my eyes off the problem, I can spot
God’s gifts all around me. They may not be
the answer I’m searching for at the moment,
but they’re good and continuous gifts that say,
“ I still love you, my child.” They remind me that
God doesn’t stop caring for me, even though
I live with unfulfilled expectations. Now during
the hard times, I remind myself to hunt for God’s
small surprises while I am waiting for His big
solution. It takes my mind off the problem. It
helps me to trust Him….It encourages me to know
that God still cares.
Judith Couchman
lbeerman68@gmail.com
