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Crossing Cultures Devotional Memoir

Walking, we wait

My earliest memory of waiting? “Wait a minute. Just hold your horses.”  

And the minute is never a minute. 

From childhood I push for immediate fulfillment of desires. Quick resolution of problems and struggles. Longing for what’s just out of my reach. The future.

I want it now.

So I hurry up! And wait.

photo by xu haiwei on Unsplash

We wait

In 1991, we sell most of our earthly goods. Train and prepare to move overseas.  Rush to get all the parts of our visa application submitted. 

Then we wait. 

For the birth of our first child. And a visa to Pakistan.

And we wait

Our precious daughter is born on a snow-flurried day in Virginia. In due time. After a long, hard labor. 

The visa doesn’t come. 

Paperwork is “lost,” they say. Again. And again.

We re-submit our application. And we wait.

Yes, Lord.

Isaiah 26:8 marches in with a fresh perspective during the season of unknowns. 

“Yes, Lord…” Yes. My response to Him should always be “Yes, Lord!” No matter what. No matter how unclear the way ahead appears to be. 

“…walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You…” 

Walking, we wait. 

In the waiting there’s still movement. Abiding in the Vine. Obedience. Serving in the here and now. Not waiting for the future to materialize first.

For His name and His glory

“…Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”

This. In the waiting and the walking. In the struggle and the humbling. His name and His glory are becoming the desire of my heart. 

Hunger grows. To know Him. To know His ways. And to make Him known. 

Walking, we wait

Walking, we wait. In Virginia. In Arizona. In Thailand. And one day the word comes.

Our visa is approved. 

It is only the beginning of walking and waiting. In wilderness and tsunami. In grueling spiritual battle. 

For it’s the ongoing journey of living in “the already.” And looking forward to the “not yet.” Discovering it’s all for Him. And His glory. All.

What about you?

Do you ever resent being told to “wait a minute”? What has He taught you about walking and waiting?

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14 replies on “Walking, we wait”

I remember a time when everyone around me was asking “What’s next?” And it seeped into my soul until I couldn’t endure it. So I sat down at my newly purchased dining table and placed my Bible on the marble top and said to the All-Knowing One “I’m going to sit here until You tell me what’s going to happen!”
In the quiet voice that I recognize from many other encounters the response came “Let’s talk about this. How did you get here? Was it your idea? Was it your dream?”
Of course, the answer was NO – not at all my idea, not at all my dream!
His next question re-directed my thoughts, and has continued to change my heart. “Then what do you want going forward? Do you want what you can dream for your future? Or do you want what I can dream for you?”
Hands down – no hesitation! I want Your dreams!
More than a decade later, I still want His dreams, His plans, His purpose!

One of my favorite songs about waiting…Take Courage sung by Kristene DiMarco. “He’s in the waiting.” Check it out on YouTube.

Susan, I’ve been a believer for about seventy-three years now and waiting is part of life, just as walking (and running). I’m still encouraged and quoting a never-failing verse; “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.” Isaiah 40:31 Thank you for your sweet reminders.

Thank you for your testimony, Bettie. What a blessing to celebrate 73 years of walking and waiting with Him! So thankful for your encouragement in my life and in the lives of so many others.

I always thought I would be a missionary on ‘foreign’ soil….unmarried, preferably! I am now married with 3 children and the fourth on the way. In a life I never would have chosen as a girl, I am learning to say ‘Yes, Lord’ each day. Walking while I wait…..perfectly stated.

About two years ago, I went through a period of deep dissatisfaction and faith crisis. A estranged relative reached out to me with ‘fresh revelation’ that sounded so good…..true Holy Spirit infilling would be evident by ‘special’ knowledge; no more of this inconvenient waiting stuff!!!

God was so faithful to bring me out of that heresy and assure my that I didn’t need to seek or conjure up super powers……I need to depend on Him…..seek for Him……love Him…..obey Him….. and when the ‘big’ jobs come along, if they do, all the aforementioned hard things will have prepared me for what God’s calling me to. But there are no ‘small’ things, really. Faithfulness in the insignificant is powerful.

Thanks for this reminder!

Thank you for sharing your story, Sherri. What an encouraging truth that faithfulness in the insignificant is powerful when God is leading you there. So thankful for the lessons of depending on Him and trusting His timing! Grace to you as you walk in obedience where you are–and raising four precious children.

To be honest, this is where I struggle the most. To “wait” and to be patient. And maybe it’s because I have no idea how to move forward but i know that God wants me to go and serve Him to new places where Christ is still unknown… where the gospel is hard to get in. There are still many UUPGs, needing to hear the Good News. As I wait and not really know how to “go”, sometimes I would question myself if I really heard God correctly. And so confusion, insecurities, fear, worry and discouragement will consume me.

Thanks for sharing this post. You are right when you said “In the waiting there’s still movement. Abiding in the Vine. Obedience. Serving in the here and now. Not waiting for the future to materialize first.” Thanks for this very helpful and great reminder. I needed to hear this.

I am so thankful it is an encouragement to you. He knows the way, Eli, and He will lead you step by step in His perfect timing. Meanwhile, abiding in Him and His Word, you obey day by day by day. Grace to you, sister.

I would love to hear from you!

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