[DaughterBound]

I just wanted to share what I read this morning...I wish I had read it last year about this time while I waited and longed for Eden to be home! It is written by Joe Stowell. I hope it blesses you and brings hope to all who are waiting......

Life in the Waiting Room
Isaiah 40:31 ESV
We’ve all heard the prayer: “Lord, make me more patient—and do it now!” Of all the spiritual virtues, patience is one that tends to be troublingly elusive. Let’s face it; if patience is a virtue, most of us are not very virtuous. It’s flat out hard to wait.
Think of how you feel when you’re late for a critical engagement and caught in a traffic jam. I find it tough when I’m in a hurry and rush to the “10 items or less” line at the grocery store, and then have to wait while the guy in front of me pulls 16 items out of the basket and casually chats with the clerk. How did I know it was 16 items? I counted them, piece by piece!
When life or people don’t measure up to our expectations, being patient can be quite a challenge. But it’s clear that God wants us to develop this character trait. After all, patience is more than a virtue—it’s a fruit of the Spirit. It reflects His very presence in our lives, for He is a patient God. If He weren’t, we all would have been annihilated long ago.
So what’s our problem?
There’s a good probability that our struggle with patience has been unsuccessful because we’ve been trying to focus on our own agendas and timelines and not trusting that, for reasons best known to Him, God may have a whole different schedule for us. Our propensity to live with a short fuse is all about forgetting that God puts us in His waiting room on purpose, because He is often doing something behind the scenes while we wait.
It might be as simple as teaching us to be more concerned with the struggles and feelings of others rather than being totally taken with our own interest and plans. There is plenty of evidence as well that God interrupts the normal flow of our lives to open unusual opportunities to be used of Him in unexpected ways. Or, it just may be that God wants to give us the opportunity to show what His patience is like by demonstrating it to others.
One thing we can be sure of—God’s time is always the right time. His management of our situations—whether in traffic or in the “ten items or less” line—is always the best management. Patience is not learning to wait for others; it’s learning to wait on God and to cooperate with His work in our lives. Next time impatience begins to stress you out, stop and ask God what He is saying to you; ask Him to show you why your expectations and schedule have been hijacked. Then take a deep breath and trust. Trust that He is at work in you and in the situation.
So, the next time you have to wait, “wait for the Lord”! He is never late.
YOUR JOURNEY…

• What kinds of situations make you impatient?
• What are you waiting for right now?
• What are some ways that God might be working in your situation while you wait?

[DaughterBound]

Bumpity bumpity BUMP
Want to make sure all who need to read this get to....

[tallsuse]

Thanks, this is great! And also very frustrating! For me, I can wait for a while....but it's when the waiting goes on and on and on, that's when I really start to lose it. I'm on day 83, just waiting for our I-171H approval. I made it through the first 70 days...no problem. I knew I would have to wait. But it seems like our challenges in life always go just beyond what we're comfortable with. Otherwise they wouldn't be challenges I guess, right?

Thanks for sharing this.
TallSuse
07/27/06 - Application submitted to Agency
08/31/06 - Home Study completed
08/21/06 - Mailed I-600A
09/01/06 - USCIS Fingerprints done
09/21/06 - Home Study sent to USCIS
09/26/06 - Home Study received by USCIS
12/01/06 - Dossier Documents Complete and Sent to Consulate

[drjeanne]

Wonderful! Thank you for posting! It meant a lot to me!

Jeanne

[fochtru]

Thanks for posting that, it is a really great message and something I'm trying to remember on a daily basis.

[snugs1974]

Thank you! I definitely needed to hear/read this today. In His perfect timing- NOT mine!

[tallsuse]

Bumpity bump...

[banda]

Thanks so much. This is a great message! It is hard to remember, but when we do, things are so much easier during this long process.

[RTRhino]

Thanks for the great message Leah! Hope all is well with you and your family.

Take care and have a great Christmas!

Thanks again,
Tom