I'm Waiting

Psalms 27: 14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

“I’m waiting…”

If I had a title for this message, it would be, “I’m waiting…”

A little background about me. For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Diana, and I am part of a blended family of 5 (8 if you include the animals). My husband Eric and I just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary, and we have 3 girls- Ryah, 14 and Kara, 9 are from my first marriage and Eric and I welcomed our daughter Evelyn in August of 2020.

And if there weren’t enough girls in the house we have a female cat, Gizmo.

I did promise Eric a male dog, which we adopted in September of last year, Finn a Great Pyrenees mix, but then a few months later we decided we didn’t like relaxing or sitting down so we adopted another puppy a female (And in my defense Eric picked her out) Pitbull Terrier named Nala. So, if you weren’t keeping count that’s 6 females to 2 males. So, you can imagine the phrase, “I’m waiting…” is used on a daily basis in my house.

Something else you may not know about me is that I am not a patient person- waiting is not my strong suite. As Pastor Joel has shared before, Westbrook Park has applied to be a host church for the 2023 Night to Shine Event through the Tim Tebow Foundation. I can’t thank the people of this congregation enough for your outpouring of prayers and support. We waited patiently for a month to hear back regarding our referral and now are waiting again to hear back regarding our official application to host. So, those prayers coming, God is working and will let us know if it is His plan for us to host this event in His time.

In the 21st century we have been conditioned to receive immediate responses. We live in a chaotic world where people, and answers are at our fingertips 24/7. We can google any question and receive a host of information - even more than we were looking for in the first place sometimes in a moments time. And if that isn’t convenient enough for you, most can simply ask Siri – if you’re not familiar with her she is a voice activated intelligent assistant on Apple devices. If you are one of those Android users- I don’t even know how to talk to you- just kidding the Android version is called Google Assistant. Anyways, with Siri you can easily make calls, and even form, and send text messages or search the internet for information among many other things. Gone are the days of encyclopedias and Library research- no one has time for that we want information, and we want it 10 minutes ago.

My middle daughter Kara is a prime example of this. If I have the audacity to go somewhere without her, within 5 minutes of leaving the house she will begin repeatedly call me until I answer- and if after calling a dozen or so times she doesn’t get a response the text messages will begin. Just the other week she was with her dad – she had been gone less than 2 hours and I receive a call from her just to talk because we hadn’t talked in “forever.” She will call her friends and if they don’t answer her call she will leave a message and then immediately call back. If she doesn’t get a response after 10 or so calls she gets upset thinking that her friend doesn’t like her anymore. The concept of calling someone and leaving a message and waiting for someone to call you back is a foreign concept. This Gen Z generation was born into a fast-paced internet driven world. Waiting is not only a foreign but non-existent concept for many of them. But lets be honest, we all have been conditioned over the years to not only want but to expect instant answers and connection.

It is hard for us in this day and age to accept that God knows everything across all time – but when we pray to Him He does not always provide us an answer instantaneously. Sometimes, even though God knows the answer, He also knows that we are not in a place to hear it. So we are asked to wait. One of the hardest things to do is wait on His answer in His time. In your time of waiting for Gods answer, you can grow impatient, or you can grow in your relationship with Him. Today, I want to focus on five things to do in your wait to help you find reconciliation instead of restlessness.

Be still and embrace the quiet

First in your wait- be still and embrace the quiet

In my house there is not much stillness or quiet. I have seen so many posts of parents that escape to the bathroom and close the door to just get a couple minutes of calm only to hear a knock on the door moments later and a child asking what is going on in there. Although, when I do finally get the quiet house, I’ve been dreaming of I get this sudden sense of panic- what are the kids or dogs doing in all of this silence- because as parents we all know the danger of a quiet still house.

I can also that appreciate that some houses are nothing but stillness and quiet and you’re thinking I can’t take anymore. This past week Eric and I took a mini vacation down to Louisville, KY. Tuesday evening, we went to dinner at a restaurant downtown. As we were walking out of the restaurant onto the crowded downtown sidewalk, I almost bumped into a man walking by. He apologized for being in my way and I simply looked him in the eyes and said, “you’re fine.” As I began to walk away the man called after me, he yelled, “mam, mam.” Eric and I both turned around and he said he wanted to thank me for being so kind as to acknowledge his presence. He began to tell Eric and I that he was homeless and every day, sitting in downtown Louisville he was passed by hundreds of people, but no one would talk to him or even look at him as a person. With tears beginning to fill in his eyes he thanked us for taking the time to talk with him and treat him like a human being – I will never forget he said, “a person can only take being treated as garbage for so long.” You see that man has nothing but quiet around him, but I pray that he knows that he is knows he is not alone. God is with him and will not only talk to him anytime but loves him. The quiet can become a beautiful place when the creator of the universe is there with you.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…” Psalm 37:7

Today we are so used to the sound of unending noise that the presence of involuntary silence can at times make us very uncomfortable. I think everyone can relate being in a social setting where there is uncomfortable quiet, and you begin to rack your brain for any piece of small talk to break the silence. But Psalm 37: 7 tells us, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…”

Every morning I set my alarm early so I can have some quiet time to be still with God. Some days I lose myself in my conversation with God- it just flows effortlessly, and I relish in my silent meditation time with Him. Other days, I find myself rattling off a list of concerns, requests, and complains without waiting to see if God has anything to say in return. Instead of sitting in the quiet and stillness I allow my mind to wonder and become preoccupied by the daunting to-do list for the day.

God asks us for our time and attention. In today’s hectic culture time is at a premium. While the stillness and quiet can be uncomfortable and feel impossible in the beginning, it is necessary to truly connect to God. Jesus set this example for us. Mark chapter 1 verse 15 tells us, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” During his time of Earth, Jesus would frequently go to a quite placed to pray to his Father.

-So first, in your wait- be still and embrace the quiet-

Give control to God

Second, in your wait- give control to God

Did you know that there is a national tug-of-war championship? When I was a kid, this game was simple - put some kids on the end of a long rope with space in the middle and pull until one side was yanked over the midline. Apparently, Tug-of-War can be a much more strategic game than that. According to USA Tug-of-War Association handbook (yes that’s a real thing you can ask Siri about it later)- each team consists of 8 pulling members and 1 coach to direct the pullers and 1 trainer that can take care of the team before and after the pulls.

During the game, the coach will direct their team on the best time to “pull’ and when to “hang”. The coach does this by watching the opposing team and knowing when they are going to pull. At this time, he will direct his team to hang. When asked to hang the team members stand in place, drop their center of gravity, plant their feet firmly into the ground, and use their body weight as an anchor to themselves allowing for little movement. This strategy is used to wear down the opposing team causing resistance against their pulls.

On the other hand, the coach also lets his team know when it is time to pull. This is the time when the team digs in their feet and power walks backward without submission until they either win or are told to hang.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalms 32:8

Psalms 32: 8 tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” In our life of Tug-of-War, we are the team members with the rope in our hand trying to navigate when to pull and when to hang. God is our coach, and when we give control to Him, and wait for him to tell us when to pull and when to hang the game of life goes much smoother. Oh, and let’s not forget about our trainer, Jesus, who is there to take care of us when we don’t listen to our coach God and get hurt (or sin) along the way.

-So, in your wait- give control to God-

Let go of negative thoughts

In your wait- let go of negative thoughts

I tend to be a glass-half-empty kind of person. Over the years I have come to realize this is not just because I was raised by a police officer and taught to look at things very critically. But I use it as a defense mechanism, if I believe the worst is going to happen and it does I that’s what I was prepared for. If the best happens then that’s way better than what I thought. Win-win right?

After my first marriage ended, I was in a very dark place, with very little faith a happily ever after. I told my friends I would never get married again. I made this unreasonable “list” of expectations for a potential future spouse, which before we even started dating Eric told me was unrealistic and that man did not exist. In my time with God, He worked on my heart and in time, I was able to let go of my negative views of marriage and open my mind to the possibility of being happy again. When people ask how Eric and I met, it always surprises them to know we have known each other our entire lives- we actually met the nursery of this very church the Sunday after I was born. We grew up in church together, but never dated or thought of each other as more than friends. We both graduated and left for college and years went by where we were nothing more than acquaintances. It was only when I was finally able to let go of the negative from my past and with His perfect timing that God brought Eric back into my life and today I can truly say I am very happily married to my best friend.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Timothy 1:7

It is easy to fill the time God asks us to wait with fear and negativity. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1: 7 “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

When you feel the heaviness of the silence while waiting it is easy to get the impression you have been forgotten. Rest assured God will never forget you. One of my favorite poems is a popular one entitled, Footprints in the Sand, it goes:

One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”

So, in your wait- let go of negative thoughts

Satan loves to use our darkest and scariest times to turn us away from God. But don’t mistake God’s silence for abandonment. There is a lot of love in taking the time to listen to those we care about the most rather than filling their ears with meaningless words. God will not only stand with you in your hard times but will pick you up and carry you when you’ve lost the strength to stand.

-So, in your wait- let go of negative thoughts-

Be patient with God

In your wait- be patient with God

In the mist of the 2020 quarantine there were a lot of young families that needed something to distract themselves from the waiting at home. One social media challenge that went viral in May was known as the Candy Challenge. In this challenge parents set up a secret camera and set a bowl of fruit snacks (or a favorite candy) in front of their child and tell the child they had to run to the other room. The parent then asked their child not to eat any candy until they returned. They would leave the room and see what the child would do.

In one of my favorite videos of this challenge a little girl who was waiting so patiently for her father to return to the room. As time went on and her father had not returned you could see her getting impatient looking bowl of candy. Finally, towards the end of the video you see the little girl look over her shoulder and then begin to jump up and down in her seat with excitement. Watching this as a parent of a toddler, my thought was that this sudden change in behavior could be because she needed to go to the restroom. Then later in the video you learn that the child did not need to use the restroom rather she heard her father through the door before she could see him and knew he was coming, and she would soon be able to enjoy her candy.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be consistent in prayer.

The Bible is full of bowls of candy, great promises we know are coming but are asked to wait to enjoy until God returns. It is easy to get frustrated when you know Gods ultimate plan for us and yet everyday we turn on the news and it feels like the world is falling apart around us. In this time while we have that bowl of candy in front of us but cannot enjoy it- it is so easy to get impatient with God.

In the book of Romans Paul tells us, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be consistent in prayer.” In hard times it is easy to pray to God and in the silence become impatient feeling like an answer will never come. But trust that it will in His timing and in your wait- be patient with God.

In your wait- Prepare yourself for the possibility of “no

My last point today is… In your wait- Prepare yourself for the possibility of “no”

I know what you are thinking- I just sat here and listened to you talk about waiting in stillness and quiet, giving control to God, getting rid of my negative thoughts, and being patient with God – and I do all that for God to tell me no?? Well, yes, but stay with me I promise I’m going somewhere with this.

In 1990 Garth Brooks released the song, “Unanswered Prayers”. It’s a beautiful song in its entirety but the refrain of the song has a powerful message, and it says,

“Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

As parents we all know that the most loving thing, we can do for our children sometimes is say no. We set boundaries for them based on their level of understanding and maturity. I never have taken lightly the responsibility God gave me when I became a mother.

Earlier this year I had to make a very hard decision for my oldest daughter Ryah, remember Ryah is my 14-year-old- so we are in that I know nothing she knows everything stage. It was one of the hardest decisions as a parent I had to make, and I knew at that moment Ryah wouldn’t see that what I was doing was what was best for her. Sitting down with her and telling her no may have been harder on me than her. Later that week, Ryah and I were talking at the island, and I looked down to see Evelyn, my 1-year-old, with the cap to a plastic water bottle in her mouth. I quickly removed it from her mouth and told her that she couldn’t play with the cap and placed it on the counter. Ryah looked at me and said that was scary. I quickly took that moment God gave me and explained to Ryah that Evelyn had no idea that what she was doing was dangerous, but because we are older with more life experience and understand knew just how dangerous it was. And just how I removed the cap from Evie and explained at her level that it wasn’t safe; I had done that same thing for Ryah earlier that week.

…I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

In the same way God, the perfect parent, will tell us no from time-to-time. The bible tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 18 that, “…I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” It has become a popular option that God loves to say no and doesn’t want us to have any fun. That is simply not true.

Back in 2018, when I was a single mother, I surprised Ryah who was 9 and Kara who was 5 at the time with a Disney cruise to the Caribbean. If you don’t know much about Disney, you know it is a trip is the pinnacle destination to take two little girls, but it’s not easy on the wallet. I made many sacrifices to save up enough money for that trip. The cruise was the trip of a lifetime and the smiles on the girls faces meeting Disney princesses and going down the Aquaduck- a highspeed water coaster right on the ship. Ryah loved the royal environment on the ship and thought she was fine to roam around this 4,000 passenger, 14 level ship all on her own. She was not thrilled when I made sure she was always accompanied by an adult, but safety first. Let me tell you though, all those smiles on the girls faces that week were worth every sacrifice I made, and they brought me more joy than money ever could.

Prepare yourself for the possibility of “no”

If an average Earthly parent loves to see their child have fun but also sets boundaries to keep them safe, why would a perfect heavenly father not want the same for His children? Sometimes, God tells us no not because he doesn’t want us to have any fun, rather because He knows there is something better out there for you. So, when you find yourselves in those times when God is telling you that you aren’t going to get what you’ve asked for, be comforted in knowing that God loves you enough to say no.

In your wait- prepare yourself for the possibility of “no”

My child the wait is over.

Waiting is not easy- but know that God is waiting on you too. If you are not a Christian, God is patiently waiting for you in the quiet to love Him back and to accept the sacrifice He made for you on the cross. I invite you today to end His wait and accept Him into your life, and when you do, He will continue waiting on you, but He’ll be coaching you in the tug-of-war of life. Guiding you on when pull and when to hang until the that great day when He comes back to gather His children and tell us, “My child the wait is over.”