Hope in a Season of Waiting

Hey sweet friend,

Are you in a season of waiting? Waiting for the next season of life, a promotion, college acceptance letter, to find your spouse. Or have you experienced this in the past?

I’ve always heard people talk about being in a season of waiting, but I never really resonated with that phrase. I like to keep myself busy and focus on multiple goals at once. I usually feel like I’m working towards the future, not waiting for it to come to me.

Is anyone else a self-motivated Type A personality who runs on high levels of stress + multiple cups of coffee? *cue my inner Lorelai Gilmore*

Well, it’s been different the last few months. More symptoms (including pain, migraines, fatigue) have slowed down my goals. And I’ve been waiting. For explanations for why I’m having the symptoms, for answers about what I can do.

A total of nine doctors appointments, two blood draws, and one medical procedure from December 30th to now.

With each appointment came the possibility of bad news, with each test came the stress of being examined and poked, and with each period in between came the wait.

I really hate waiting.

Because in that time in between, I didn’t know what was happening so I couldn’t control what was happening. I couldn’t figure out my goals and make a plan for success. I could (and did) research the health conditions my doctors were investigating, but this often just fed my anxious brain (Dr. Google isn’t always the most reliable).

Will It Be Okay?

At one point I talked to my husband about the way I was spiraling into fear over what was going on with my health and how it could affect our future. He asked me, “Abby, is it up to you?” I said, “no.” He said, “Okay, so it’s up to God?” “Yes.” Then he looked right in my eyes and asked me the question I knew was coming: “So is it going to be okay?”

I took a deep breaths, and said “Yes.”

And I still had to wait.

The morning following this conversation, I opened my daily devotion to see Psalm 62. It just happened to be the Psalm for the day, but it was exactly what I needed to read.

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him;

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Selah.”

Psalm 62:5-8

“Is it going to be okay?” is the question our anxious brains fixate on. As a Christian, you can answer “Yes.” After all, it really is all in God’s hands and he is working good from it (Romans 8:28). But the question of HOW is what we have to wait for. How will this all work out, how will it be okay, how will we make it through this awful/boring/frustrating/disappointing/anxiety-producing season of waiting?

God is a Refuge

Merriam-Webster online defines “refuge” as “shelter or protection from danger or distress.” If God is our refuge, we hide in him. We hide under his shelter, knowing that he’s working in ways we can’t see yet.

We talk to him every day about awful/boring/frustrating/disappointing/anxiety-producing this time is. We ask him to work in it, and we trust that he is. We wait for God.

Because when we’re waiting, we’re really waiting for change. For the love of our life to walk in the room, for the diagnosis that will kickstart a treatment plan, for a promotion or new job that will lead to brand new experiences and responsibilities. And in those stressful changes – in all that movement – God will still be a refuge for us.

If you’re in a waiting season, read through those verses above again. Let that phrase soak in: God is a refuge for us.

Take the time that you’re waiting to dig in to the love of God. Wait for him to bring you the answers and to show you what will change. Protect yourself with his words.

Because even though the waiting will end and everything else will change around you, the love of the Father is constant.