Guest Blog: Finding Gratitude While You Wait

Hello Lovely Ladies, This week our Fruit of the Spirit is PATIENCE! I know right? Not long ago I went through a season of what I felt was almost literally being cast into the desert ALONE. It was a time when I could have went either way... clinging to Christ or loose my way. It was a horrific time filled with despair and uncertainty. I knew then that the only way to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, even though at that point I could not even catch a glimpse of a flicker of hope of the light, was to take my Bible and dive in. There were days I did not know what to read and I would just take a hold of His word and cry out “Lord, I don’t know what it is that You would have for me today, so I am going to open this book and I am just going to start randomly reading and I know, You are here and I know You WILL speak to me.” And sure enough day after day and sometimes several times a day, when I would find myself falling apart, feel the fear moving in, and not even able to look into the eyes of another human being without a significant melt down, I would open my Bible and He would speak to me. There were times I could only cry out “Lord I love you, fill me with Your Spirit and keep me close.” It was during this time I chose to be patient. If you re-read that sentence it says “I chose”. Yes patience, although defined as a noun, is very much a verb because it takes an active choice to stand firmly on God's Word when all you want is answers and to know the outcome. When we think of the word patience we might think of the scripture verse from the Psalms... 46:10, Be still and know that I am God. And while a synonym of patience is peace, please, please, please get this: Stillness my friends is not stagnation. In the translation we understand further that patience is more over defined as endurance. Whenever I hear the word endurance I think of running a marathon. How many times in 26 miles would it be so easy to quit? It's simple enough to understand that every mile run is a movement towards the reward. The Word of God also depicts patience as an action. Here is some advice from Hebrews 12:1... "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Patience is definitely a way to grow in our faith. We find in the Bible that everywhere you find patience, you will find faith as well. Trust me when I say I have learned when you pray for patience, God does not give you patience. God gives you opportunities in which to grow in your faith. In other words, He will place you smack dab in the middle of a desert place where all you can do is wait. Girlfriends when you are in this season of your life you must be still and wait on the Him. I can assure you there is nothing more devastating than to jump the gun on God and then find the perfect ______ (fill in the blank with job, home, spouse, opportunity, shoes… whatever, has just passed you by). We wait on him, we do become still, however, this stillness is in our heart and our minds. Faith growing takes action. As The Word depicts patience, and endurance as a sporting event, we too must equip ourselves for battle and for the race ahead. One of my favorite verses from Paul’s testimony is this one... Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." This says I do not know what lies ahead, I do not know what I should do, or what to believe in, but by faith I am moving forward. I am looking ahead. God has every minute of every day and He is NOT letting go of me. It also says in Paul’s waiting, he did not become stagnant. Instead, what did he do?? He PRESSED on!! For us this means facing each and every new day with joy in our hearts. There is something to be seen today. There is something to learned today. There is something to enjoy today. The light at the end of the tunnel? This may be the day that you begin to see it! A switch may pop on and then another and soon God’s message to you becomes clearer and clearer. As you learn patience, God continues to strengthen your faith through those seasons of uncertainty. He's doing this by placing those people in your life who fill you with affliction and the opportunity to be patient enough to truly get to know what’s under their surface and love them anyway. As I said earlier, this season of stillness requires us to focus on God, seek His face, dive into His Word and lather up with His Mercy and His Grace. Be aware of Satan's every move though. Every doubt, every fear, every negative event, is the enemy lurking like a hungry lion (Peter 5: 8-9). Trust me, and trust in your Savior when I tell you... You will get through this! I know when I went through my ordeal, the days would come and the days would go and I would be so excited that no matter how hard this day was, I made it through. I got in the habit of when I turned out the light next to my bed at night I would say “Yay Jesus, we did it.” God continues to strengthen me. I learned to accept each and every moment as “this moment is as exactly as it should be.” I learned in my patience to trust God. He has already gone before me and He knows where I am going. We would not take our child’s hand and lead them into traffic, nor will He with me. I began to see light in every day, I found joy in the simplest of things and I have learned there is so much to be gained in loosing it all! The wait was worth all of that I have been blessed with. I still feel many days in my life as though the blessings continue to flow due to that time in the desert, and I am thankful. Face on the floor, hands in the air filled with gratitude for my Savior's love for me. I want to close with this. Be careful. Others are watching. They are watching the Jesus in you. One day a woman showed up on my doorstep, as she pulled a little bag out of her purse she said, “I saw this and I thought of you. You are really an inspiration to many in this neighborhood.” It was a tiny garden stone with a picture of a dragon fly (which stands for peace) and it says, “Patience Is the Art of Accepting Each Moment As It Is." Joyful living is finding gratitude while you wait. Kim