As a child, I relied on my parents, siblings, and other adults to tell me when it was safe to cross the road. As a child, I couldn’t see past some cars. As a child, I only cared about getting across the road to reach the park so I could play. I didn’t think of, nor could I see, what could happen if I misjudged the distance of an approaching car or if it was stopping or not. And my lack of ability to determine the right timing, the right space, the right direction, meant that I needed someone who could see more than I could to point me, lead me, and guide me into safety.

Not much has changed. I may not need an adult to tell me when to cross the road, but, in this journey called life, I need someone who knows more than me, who can see more than me, who can judge better than me to tell me when it is safe and best to move forward. Too many times I have chosen to step into the “street” without checking first and the result often ended up in heartache, brokenness, and pain. These moments of suffering has taught me the value of waiting for the “green light.”

As a child of God, I must make a daily choice to look to Him before stepping into the road. What I have realized is that just as my parents held my hand all the way through it, the waiting and the crossing, and then watch with joy as I run and play – so does God. He holds my hand through it all, He doesn’t abandon me. And then with the pride of a father and the joy of a mother he watches me bound into the future He knew was waiting.

As a child of God, while I play I’m consistently looking back to see if He is 1. still there 2. calling me back or 3. telling me it’s time to Go.

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A while ago a friend of mine said something to me that got me thinking. We were chatting on the phone updating one another on recent (and not so recent) changes in our respective lives and she said, “Ya know, Michelle, it seems like you are perpetually in a waiting season. What’s with that?”

I thought it over, it kind of rang in my head for the next few days that followed. She’s right. For the last few years of my life, ever since I have taken my relationship with God more seriously, I have been in some kind of waiting season.

Through all these waiting seasons I have learned quality life lessons.

First : God Always Follows Through

With each season I would wonder if God would actually come through. Will I end up where He wants me to be? Did I hear him right? Am I doing enough? Somehow, only by the grace of God, the money is there, the generosity is given, the phone rings, the doors open. And usually it is no where near what I expected or thought I wanted, but somehow more perfect than I ever could have dreamed. God Follows Through.

Second : There Is Beauty Even In The Uncertain

Usually I’m terrified of uncertainty. Especially in this day and age. I’m nearly 30 and don’t seem to have a plan for my future or a career to propel me forward. But what I have learned is that I cannot rush the will or timing of God. I have this tendency to find myself bogged down by worry and anxiety about my future, or rather my ability to control my future. But the few moments I have taken to stop and “smell the roses”, I discover that I missed the peace and beauty that was already around me. My worry about the future has, in the past (and let’s be honest, probably will in the future), keep me from recognizing and appreciating the greatness of what is right in front of me. With this understanding, I must be diligent in being present and appreciating what is now.

Three : There Is Work To Be Done And Work Being Done In The Waiting

The waiting is never meant to be wasted. God doesn’t ask us to wait out of spite. Sometimes it’s a matter of things lining up for me to be able to step into what He wants for my future. Sometimes a waiting season is for healing or growth in me that needs to happen. Sometimes, He places me in a certain place while I wait so that I can love, lead, learn from, and help those around me.

I’ve found this to be true in the last 10 plus months of my life. Over this time, I have often found myself wallowing in the fact that I had to wait for God to open doors and lead me in His Way. When I eventually stopped wallowing, I found that I had been missing the opportunity in front of me to grow, heal, love, and serve those around me. Each time God shows me how, in my waiting, He has orchestrated His will through it.

David says it best in Psalms 37:3-7

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
    and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
    do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
    over those who carry out evil devices.

So, as a child of God, I choose to Trust, Take Delight, Commit my way, and Be still waiting for him to say “Go” so that I can leave where He has me to where he wants me.

But trust me, I still run out into the street some times, overly excited about the park.