The Necessity of Waiting

 It's still winter in my part of the world. Which means it's bitterly cold in the mornings. Barely tolerable in the afternoon. Back to bitter in the evenings. Thankfully, it's not the beginning of winter. Nor is it the end when I can start to feel that first warm breeze of spring. The surrounding area is right in the middle of winter. The sparkle of Christmas is gone. The hope of no longer needing mittens and double layers is not quite available. 

It's a season of waiting. Of anticipation with out being able to see ahead. It's a struggle for me. Probably for a lot of us. So what am I waiting for? What is coming next? Where is the path that the steps are leading me down? Is there really nothing to do except wait? 

To wait goes against all I have been taught and know how to do. Because I like to do. Doing means action. Action means distraction from the waiting that is hard to sit in. If I can do, that means I am able. If I can scurry from task to task, I don't have to dwell on what is unfolding in my head. To take a step seems more worthy than to take a seat. At least that is what I thought. Until I was confronted with seasons and spaces where there wasn't anything to do. Not a step to take. Nothing to do but process thoughts and wrestle with the question of "What now?". 

When I have the seasons of waiting I face the questions of purpose and am forced to reflect on what got me to this point? Waiting is a season of reset. It's a time to not just huddle down under a blanket and binge on food or streaming services or social media or my favorite app. Waiting is a time to prepare for the next step or season. To focus on the One who orders my steps and directs my paths. 

Because I am not alone in my waiting. Neither are you. It is in the waiting that I also have quiet. It is there, that I can hear the still, small voice of my Creator. That is when I wait for the direction on what the next right thing will be. It is the waiting that I can prepare. I can rest up. I can be restored from heartache. Waiting provides an opportunity to convalesce and refocus after intense times in life. 

When I have suffered heartache from a loved one. When I have poured out all into a ministry and I hear that it's time to move on. When I have relocated physically, emotionally or spiritually to a new place, that is when I don't just have a season of waiting, I need to wait. For that recuperation and voice of direction.

In the New Testament, before any decisions were made, the apostles and later disciples would take to time to wait before heading in any direction. This was a practice they learned from Jesus. To sit and wait before receiving direction. It is a practice I am trying more and more to implement in my own life. To wait before stepping, to be obedient even in the stillness.