Week 39 (The Work of Waiting)

I'm waiting. Waiting for a tick, a twinge, a sign that says things are moving forward. Week 39 for an expectant momma is the longest week in the history of all the weeks of the entire world. Her wait is the longest wait. Her wait is longer than Tom Hanks' wait in Castaway. She laughs in his waiting face as he's talking to Wilson. Her belly is her own Wilson.

This time next week I will be holding my baby boy, James.

To you 7 days might not seem so very long. And you're exactly right. But something happens during Week 39 and time starts to tick for Momma in a different way.

My nursery has been ready for weeks. My hospital bag is ready to go. I finished, weeks ago, all I could do at work at both school and the studio.

And now, I'm just waiting.

Last week I talked to Vicki about the waiting. My dear friend who with two babies of her own understands completely the week that is 39. And she reminded me of something simple: use your time. Do something. Don't wait. Work.

Don't wait. Work.

Smart, huh?

And so for the past several days I have devoted myself to creating. I've used my days to create approximately 25 original prints and a slew of handmade cards for the studio. I ordered new inventory for our boutique section. I sat with the blogger of Love Gaston and she interviewed me about the studio. I lettered on a wooden cut out for Vicki. I completed the write-up for our Created to Create event in the fall. I took my boys for cheeseburgers. I TOOK THEM TO THE LEGO STORE AND THE DISNEY STORE. After typing this, I will build a robot with my boys for Bible School.

I've also binge-watched four seasons of Call the Midwife. (Does this count?)

Don't wait. Work.

And you know, what? The work has made the wait all the more bearable. In fact, the work makes the wait completely bearable.

I'm so busy working that I forget about the waiting.

There's a verse we Christians love. We say it at graduations and as encouragement to each other. A simple verse that conveys hope and inspiration to persevere.

But we use it completely out of context. And I want to tell you why.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Oh, how true this verse is. God speaking directly to His beloved people. And every word he breathes is true. For those he has made righteous and called according to his purpose (That's you!) he has great plans and a beautiful future. Oh, what a sweet, good, and true promise!

The same goes for the people he was speaking directly to that day: the people of Israel who were being forcibly removed from their homes and about to be taken into exile, as prisoners, to Babylon.

Well, that doesn't sound so good, does it? The words forcibly, prisoner, and exile do not sound like words filled with hope nor do they sound like words that describe a non-harmful situation.

But God would use this time in Babylon to prosper his people. 

If we jump back to verse 7 it explains the Exiles should work hard for the prosperity of Babylon. In fact, they should embrace the time spent there. How much time? God tells them they will spend 70 years of waiting in Babylon before returning to Israel. 

So what do they do during 70 years of waiting in exile? They work. They live. They build houses and plant gardens. They have sons and daughters. 

And when the time of waiting is over, they will call out to God and he will hear them. They will look for him with all their hearts and he will be found. He will restore them and send them home to good things.

So the waiting and the work are worth it.

Here's what I want you to know today: waiting is hard, work makes it easier. The rewards are worth it.

I don't know what your wait is. I don't know how long you've been waiting. But I do know that being consumed by the wait isn't healthy nor is it productive. Work in your wait. And remember that God is watching the clock of your wait just as much as you are, if not more. Jeremiah 29:11 says he is the one with the plans. He's the one that knows your future. We wait-ers are to be the workers. We wait-ers aren't the planners. That's God's job.

I know God has the perfect birthdate for my sweet baby James. I know his birthdate has been appointed from the beginning of time, that it is significant and purposeful. I don't want my James to be born on a misbegotten date of my choosing. I'm willing to wait for the perfect day God has planned for him. 

Are you willing to wait for God's perfect plan for you? I know you are. 

So use your wait and work. Build your house, plant your garden. Make your mark.

I'll be over here cheering you on from my Week 39. I hope you'll do the same for me. 

Living in the Not Knowing

by Jennifer Smith

What is it like to wait for your whole life, but to never quite be sure what it is you're waiting for? What is it to look at the underside of the tapestry of your life and never quite be sure of the design God is weaving?

I know this feeling. You know this feeling. And most certainly, Anna knew this feeling:

In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;

    release me in peace as you promised.

With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;

    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:

A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,

    and of glory for your people Israel.

 Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. 

Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

This child marks both the failure and

    the recovery of many in Israel,

A figure misunderstood and contradicted—

    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—

But the rejection will force honesty,

    as God reveals who they really are.

Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:25-38

Anna must have been someone of note because not only is she called a prophetess (the only woman OR man to be clearly given that title in the New Testament), but the writer of Luke assumes we know the identity of her father, Phanuel (His name, by the way, means "Face of God." Coincidence that his daughter would actually see the face of God? I think not.)

When we meet Anna she has lived and served the Lord in the temple for at least 50 years. She knows the stories, has memorized the scripture concerning the Messiah, and has praised and worshiped with all her heart, but God, her God, has sent no direct message to His people in over 400 years.

Anna is waiting, but she's not quite sure what she's waiting for. She knows her service to the Lord is vital. She knows that her walk with Him is special. But does she ever question the Why? Does she ever question the When? Does she ever question the How?

Well, if she's human, the answer is yes. Yes. And yes.

And that's where faith comes in. A.W. Tozer says that simple faith is the most often overlooked attribute of the servant of God, but yet it is the most vital. 

Neither Simeon nor Anna knew God's exact plan for the redemption of the world, but they kept their eyes opened for God's plan. See, Tozer says, "Faith looks out instead of in. Faith keeps an inward eye on the Father."

And with this sight, then, and only then, nothing else matters.

Not the Whys, or the Whens, or the Hows.

Faith answers these questions with, "I don't know, but I serve a God who most certainly does."

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about the things we cannot see."

Y'all, I cannot see my Whys, Whens, or Hows, but I can always see My God.

Anna's faith was rewarded. Her steadfast trust in God's plan (that she had no idea of) was celebrated by God Himself when He allowed Anna to look upon the baby Jesus as He was blessed in the temple. 

Dear Sister, just as Anna's faith was rewarded, yours will be, too.

I cannot answer your Whys, Whens, or Hows. But I don't need to. I don't know the plans for your life, but God does. 

Live in faith, like Anna. Live in the not-knowing in peace because God does know.

The last verse of this passage says that Anna "talked about the child to all who were waiting for freedom."

You know, there are those around us now who are waiting for freedom. Freedom from sin and chains and hurt. So let's be like Anna and tell them.

Let's tell people living in uncertainty of a God who is certain. 

Let's tell of a Savior who knows the way even when we are lost.

Let's find rest in a Good Father and His good plans for us. 

I read this week that we don't get to know all the details about our life. It's just not in the cards for us to walk in full knowledge of what will happen today or tomorrow. And that's okay. Don't be afraid of what you don't know. 

God knows. 

That was enough for Anna. And that's enough for us, too.

Waiting

Let the rain fall and the fire burn still.
Let all creation continue in its rejoicing.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what You have prepared for us, Father (1 Corinthians 2:9).

We know only of what we now know.
We know of your mystery and your majesty.
We know eternity is purposefully placed in our hearts.
It beckons us, revives us, and gives us a glimpse of the glory that awaits.

This weekend we pray that we hear the heavenly, create space to make, and take your truth beyond the borders of what we know.

Listen: Waiting by Bread of Stone (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/not-alone/id962527985)

This burning desire
Consuming my heart
Drawing me closer to you
I'm poured out like water
You knew from the start
You're coming to light up the dark
But waiting is the hardest part

Make something creative that connects you to Christ.
Paint something.
Bake something.
Then take something into the life of someone you know or someone you don't.

God of Eternity, Create in us a heart that remembers your mystery.

While I Wait

Life is a waiting game.  It seems we are always waiting for something.  I spend more of my time, ironically, waiting for my turn while playing the board game of Life than actually playing the game.

The minute we are born the clock starts counting down for something to begin. Our first tooth, Kindergarten, baseball tryouts, our driver's license.  Our college acceptance letter.  Our first love.

We wait for our careers to start.  For children.  For our children to get a little older so we can take that trip to wherever.

We wait for people to call, letters to come, a table at a restaurant.

We wait for test results.  We wait in line.  We wait for whatever-it-is to start.

We wait and see.  Wait and wonder.  Or we wait and we wander (this is never good).

We wait so often that we have designated rooms for it.  "Have a seat in the waiting room.  The fill-in-the-blank will see you shortly."

We wait until we figure it out.  Wait until things get better.

My precious, beloved grandmother was moved to hospice last week.  She spent many years waiting on heaven.  Today Eloise waits no more.

What are you waiting for, my friend?

I've waited, too.  For a job, for direction, for Life to start!  (What does that even mean?)  I've waited through miscarriages, for a baby to come.

I've waited for summer vacation.  I've waited anxiously for my husband to come home during bad weather.

I've waited for pain to end and happiness to come.

Waiting is a silent force that will not be denied.

So, we wait.

And what do we do while we wait?

What if we used our wait for glory?  Not ours.  But His.

See, I am a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14).  We all are.  Everyone sees I have a light for Jesus.  Is it a flicker or a flame?  A little match or a great torch?  Am I a sparkler in a small child's hand or a firework that lights up the night sky?

They see us.  The world around you is watching your wait.

So how do I make my wait worth it's weight?  Here's my plan:

Trust in the Lord

with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding

In all your ways

acknowledge Him

And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I will trust in the Lord - because when has He ever failed me?

With all my heart - because I cannot be lukewarm for Him.

I will lean not on my own understanding - because, honestly, I understand about 0.07% of my life.  The good, the bad, the ugly.   And I'm okay with it because I trust in Him for my ultimate good.

In all my ways I will acknowledge Him - because I cannot expect His blessing if I willingly sin against Him and do not declare Him fully.

And He will make my paths straight.

That last part.  Listen.  In the original text "straight" literally means "plain," meaning to remove obstacles, to show clearly and evidently.  And who will give me such clarity?  

Friend, God Himself will!  

That's a stone-inscribed, rock hard promise from God.  You trust, you obey, and He shows you the way.  

Matthew Henry said, "It is promised.  He will direct thy paths so that they shall be safe and good and happy at last."

It is promised!

Don't refuse your wait, beloved.  Bask in it.  Live it!  It is not for naught if it is for Him.  

Your wait will end.  Whatever you are waiting for will one day come.  Or it won't.  But either way the wait will be done.  Live your wait in such a way that when you look back on it, instead of pity, you feel pride in that even in your darkness you remembered there was light.

I will sing in the stillness.

I will find wonder in the wait.

I will not be moved by not moving.

I will praise the plan before it is put into practice.

God Who Sees My Wait,

Help us to trust in You and lean not on our own understanding.  In all our ways let us acknowledge You.  We trust You to make our paths straight.

Lord, may it be so.