Waiting...

 Waiting isn't a very strong point of mine. I struggle a lot with waiting in line, so you can imagine what my life is like. I play so many scenarios in my mind when I wait that I end up being agitated and anxious to get things done and get them done now! I like to plan and do so thoroughly, so that when the time comes, I'm well prepared and things move swiftly. But, life doesn't always play ball. There's a song by Juanita Bynum and Jonathan Butler called "I don't mind waiting". It's based on the scripture Isaiah 40:31 that says, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." When I heard that song I absolutely disagreed and immediately switched it off. I felt like I had waited on God long enough and He hadn't done anything for me in long time. 

It turns out God was always speaking to me, I just chose to look for Him in specific ways but He doesn't work the way we do and He doesn't think the way we do. So, I had to step away from my idea of how I thought God would finally bless me or tell me to move and to seek Him, His way and how He wants to show me the way as His sheep. Sometimes, we stand in our own way, looking at next person and how they are moving or how they are getting blessed and we think that God will do it the exact same way for us. Trust me, He won't. He will do what's unique to you, for you path is unique. Look out for Him in all things and your path should be clearer and easier to understand. Don't be bothered by time or schedules because God doesn't respect those, but they respect Him as He is always on time and right on schedule.

Something I've learned to do is to be productive while I wait. Waiting is not an issue, it's what you do while you wait that becomes challenging. You can't just sit and wait for God to give you the perfect lottery numbers. You have to go out and play the lotto in order for you to win. And so, the most effective things for me to do is be grateful. When you are looking forward to something happening or a certain door opening and it doesn't, your mind will start creating scenarios where that door never opens and that will only conjure up anxiety and depression. Once that happens then you know that you have given up. That's never God's plan for your life. Even in a state of darkness, He still has plans for you. Plans to give you hope and to prosper you even as your soul prospers. God doesn't just bless you with material things but He makes sure that your soul (emotions) can handle them, so that you end up using your blessings the way He wills it.

Being grateful forces you to see the goodness of God even while you wait. You will begin to marvel at how every aspect of you life and being has His fingerprint on it and it will eventually get rid of the fear, anxiety and depression. Instead you will have hope and trust. You will begin to trust in the Lord and in the fullness of His might. You will start to learn to surrender more to His will, His time and His way as you begin to notice all the ways that He has come through for you. This will not be an easy feat as you are probably used to noticing the negative, so I will suggest that you do what I did which was to create a  gratitude book where I wrote 5 things I was grateful for and 5 things I was asking God for. It doesn't have to be a daily practise, as that can be daunting, but during those days when you feel at your lowest, you can take that book out and read all the ways in which God has blessed you and that will sustain you and encourage to write more or to just survive the day with a positive spirit.

As you create your vision boards for 2023, try and incorporate a time for waiting and a time for gratitude into your plans, so that you don't end up giving up on the greatest things in life that only God can give you.

Cheers!