Waiting is Preparation!

"He gave...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:12-13

Many of my regular readers are also my Face-to-Face Friends. You already know I love you and as long as you keep reading, I will keep writing. You also know Karen and I (& the Children) are in a waiting period that should have some resolution today or tomorrow. We are trying to adopt a little boy in Chicago area. He has down syndrome and some of the same heart issues we dealt with Matthew's heart surgery. It is hard to believe Matthew's issues were 6 years ago. (Note: Matthew is still doing great and is starting to talk with good clarity.)

Our personal situation (and many of yours) reminded me of the above Scripture. God uses our circumstances to help us, remind us, and to prepare us for a greater fullness in Christ. We make it our goal to mature in Christ and be Christ-followers in order to please the God we love.

When we wait God helps us. I find this most helpful, because He is in control and He loves me. In that love comes help and comfort. He is working to make me more than I could image and we are confident He is willing to bring to completion that which he started.

When we wait God reminds us. He reminds us that we are not the center of the universe. To many times "hurry up" is a pride issue. I want, I want, I want. Alice is three years old and she is at the cute age of "I want." Last night she was thirsty. We were cleaning and clearing out some Christmas Decorations. Karen and I were in the middle of it and told Alice to wait a minute. She got quiet and then said, "I am thirsty and you need to get me milk." I said, "You can wait." She got a little louder and said, "I am thirsty. I want milk and it is in refrigerator." (I chuckled inside - if you know where it is, you could get it yourself...but didn't say it.) I told her to wait. It took us five minutes to finish...I think I heard the request of, "I am thirsty" at least 20 times. I could not help but think, I am not much different when the Lord tells me to wait. I want, I want, I WANT! While I wait, God is reminding me that I am not in charge.

When we wait God prepares us for the grand event. It is amazing how while we are waiting God sits there with us. When Matthew was in the hospital, Stan Martin a minister at a sister church, visited us every day. He didn't stay long, but stopped in to check on us and say hello. Words could never express how much that meant to Karen and I. God is the same way. While we wait God waits with us...While we wait He is building patience, confidence, endurance, and trust in our hearts. Thus, our faith is revealed when the waiting is over, but during the waiting our faith grows and strengthens for the next waiting period on the journey. It is then that I (we) also learn that God was preparing me for a great reward that is yet to be revealed in this life.

I pray this helps you in your times of waiting. It has helped me and I am thankful we serve a God that loves us enough to make us wait on occasion. You know I love ya - Don