Hello friends and family! It's with great joy that I write to you this evening. I'm sitting on my bed peering out the window at the vast sky bright with stars. It's nights like tonight that I love being in Australia. The clouds fill the sky in the day, and at night they disappear to reveal an endless array of beauty.
So much of my heart changes each and every day, but it's good change... It's like working out... it's painful, but totally worth it in the end! On that note, my friend Joslyn and I went jogging today and then did some ab workouts and when I was failing to do the exercise correctly she said, "it's to strengthen your core!" To that I replied, "I don't have a core to strengthen! But I'll get there." In the midst of a silly moment it hit me... I may not necessarily have a strengthened core physically, but God is defining and strengthening the core of who I am in Him. I like to take weird experiences and see them as metaphors to what God's doing. I hope you don't mind! :)
Last week I discovered my favorite place in Australia so far! About a half mile from my house there is a pathway through some fields. From the top of the hill you can see all surrounding areas. At dusk the sun paints the sky with such breathtaking colors, and the lining of the clouds shine with the intense light. Even in the rain it's a beautiful place. It's the place where I have complete freedom... I dance through the fields, lay on the grass or make my way through the trees. I can say or sing whatever I want with no cares in the world. My precious little hill. Adorned with an old barn in the distance, the view of a water tower to the right, houses straight ahead, and business buildings in all directions it's a little oasis in the familiarity of the the 3 mile radius I'm in.
One of the things I ponder the most when I'm in my 'secret garden' is the word "wait." It's a simple term; known by most, but only truly fulfilled by few.
Last week while processing many different seasons and reasons for things, I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 and saw verse 4 in a whole new light. "Love is patient..." Patient is the very first adjective when used to describe what love is. The definition of patient is: able to wait without becoming annoyed or anxious; slow to lose one's temper with irritating people or situations; the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset
The keyword I saw in this definition was "wait," which means: to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens; remain in readiness for some purpose.
Umm, hello! Isn't that wonderful?! So maybe you're waiting for a new job, waiting for a spouse, waiting for direction for the future, waiting for a baby,etc. Whatever it is... don't lose heart!
A few weeks ago one of the Pastors, Joel A'Bell, read this poem at the end of his message... I know the tendency when a poem or verse is posted is to scan over it, but I really think that if you read this with an open heart, it will speak to you just as much as it's spoken to me.
"WAIT"
Written By: Unknown
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied;
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "child, you must wait".
"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your word.
My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance, & you tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, you promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall receive.
So Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "you must wait".
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
and grumbled to God, "so, I'm waiting for what?"
He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the Heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - but you would not know me!
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of my heart.
The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know, should pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you!
So, be silent my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though often may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."
Wasn't that absolutely wonderful? I feel like whoever wrote this has been reading my mail! I pray that it blessed you as well.
Well my dear family and friends, it's almost been 3 months which means only 8 remain until I see you again. I'll be waiting for that! Much love. Many thanks. And a multitude of prayers coming your way.
The Girl In The Waiting Room,
Lindsey Noelle
