The Wait List features guest posts from people just like you and me, all sharing a coming thread of you guessed it, waiting. No one wants to be on the wait list, but through these features, I hope you find encouragement and see all the miraculous ways God works through us during that time. If you are interested in sharing your story on The Wait List, please contact me.
Guest post written by Charia.
What one thing were you waiting for?
Just like any season of waiting, there comes times of frustration, longing, struggles, questions of “why?” and even anger. I have experienced all of those things and then some in this season of living in the wait. I’m thirty-two and single, and the biggest struggle I have is wondering “WHY?”. There is nothing wrong with being single, don’t get me wrong, but for me, I never in million years thought that I’d be still waiting for my future husband to come along at the age of thirty-two. It has been a struggle to see high school/college friends find their significant others and start families. It has even been harder seeing my younger sister marry when she was just twenty-two to the man of her dreams. Although I’m super happy for them, it doesn’t help to alleviate those negative thoughts that I’m still waiting because there must be something wrong with me.
This season of waiting isn’t fun. I’m not even going to sugar coat it in saying that it’s so great and I have so much freedom because I don’t have anyone to worry about other than myself. I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t cry myself to sleep sometimes because I question what’s wrong with me or get a jaded view that guys are dumb. I’m not even going to sit here and say that I don’t get frustrated and angry with God at times because I’m single and long to start sharing my life with someone who is willing to love me unconditionally. However, in this season, I’ve grown so much in who God has made me to be, and for that, I’m thankful even when I don’t want to be.
How did God help you in your wait How did you continue to live in the wait?
John 11:5-6 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” That verse was spoken specifically to me years ago in regards to waiting for my future husband. I couldn’t understand why at the time, because it didn’t make sense. What was the significance in waiting two more days? How does that help me in my wait? All these questions, and then it finally made sense to me. Jesus LOVED Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus so much that He waited to go see them in order for Him to be glorified through it (John 11:4).
When I struggle in my waiting, I try to go back to that passage and rest in what Jesus says. My season of waiting is for me to know that my Heavenly Father loves me more than I can even comprehend, and that He wants be glorified through it. It’s not easy to see the big picture at times, but that part of scripture has given me so much peace.
Was what you were waiting for received? If not, how did God provide differently instead?
Although I wish I could sit here and tell you that I’ve met my husband and we have started a wonderful journey together, I can’t. I’m still waiting for that special man who loves me for me, cherishes my flaws and embraces every part of the woman I’ve become. I’m still waiting and yearning for the man who can point me back to Jesus in times when it’s difficult, who challenges me in my walk with Christ, and encourages me to be my best self. I wait, because Jesus loves me so much.
In this season I’ve been extremely blessed with friends and family who have been able to walk alongside and encourage me through the wait. Friends I didn’t even know I needed came along when I least expected and have continually pointed me back to The King. I have been blessed with the best in terms of friends who are in the same waiting stage of life. We talk a lot about whom our husbands will be, what they will look like and how they will compliment our different personalities. They are the ones I can cry with, who help me learn to celebrate my singleness and remind me that this waiting isn’t for nothing. I’ve also been able to travel and experience things in life that I might not otherwise be able to if I were not single. Until my husband comes along, my main man is Jesus, and I’m working at growing my relationship with Him more and more each day.
What advice would you give to someone else who is in the waiting?
Waiting sucks, not going to even lie about it. Whether you are waiting for a baby, to get married, to graduate school, get promoted, move, etc., the waiting is probably the hardest thing you will ever have to experience. What I’ve learned through this wait is that I make my plans and have thoughts about how things will go, but then God knocks me back to reality and shows me that His plans and His ways are so much better than my own. My human comprehension is so limited in comparison to what God has in store for me.
While waiting is incredibly difficult, I encourage you to reflect on your season. What has God been revealing to you and teaching you through it? I guarantee you will always be thankful for what you learn and how much you’ve grown during those times. When it is over, you will understand so much more of why you had to wait. Those lessons, I promise you, will give you more peace in living in the wait.
I’m not patient when I want what I want when I want it right now, but praise God for His grace and humor through it all. I fall, I fail, I’m not perfect, but I serve the One who is and I’m realizing more and more that His timing is perfect. He will give you what you need when you least expect it, because that’s just who He is. So, be encouraged through the wait. Know that it’s ok to not be ok. Know that Jesus loves you so much that He is waiting to bless you more than you could ever imagine, and through this season of waiting, He wants to be glorified. Sometimes God will make you wait on purpose, not only so you will know it was His favor, but so all of your critics, friends, relatives and coworkers won’t be able to deny what God has done in your life. Trust His promises and rest in his faithfulness.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us!” Ephesians 3:20 AMEN!!!
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