September 26: To WAIT: A Lost Art

WAIT {weyt}

verb:

1. {archaic} to be available or in readiness for

2. to look forward to eagerly

3. to continue as one is in expectation of; await

noun:

4. an act or instance of waiting or awaiting; delay; halt

5. a period or interval of waiting

6. {obsolete} a watchman

synonyms: 

await, linger, abide, delay, tarry. Tarry is a somewhat archaic word for wait, but it suggests lingering, perhaps aimlessly delaying, or pausing (briefly) in a journey. {dictionary.com}

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Today the kids were home from school, and I was looking forward to a relaxing/hanging out at home/playing outside kinda day, especially since some of us are still kicking a cold. 

Instead my morning was met with the fallout from a "Babysitters Beware" movie we watched last night, complete with finger paint in the sink and toilet, the bathroom covered in toilet paper, legos and flossers strewn around the floor, paper glued to the walls, and a bag of chia seeds perched atop the door, which promptly bursted open upon missing it's intended target {me} and crashing to the floor. 

Note: Don't let your kids watch that movie. There was a good message in there somewhere about families being a team and all, but it was lost to my kids in all the intriguing naughtiness. They also missed the "do not try this at home" memo. After all the cleanup, I pray they learned their lesson. 

And I didn't even get to my cup of coffee until about 2pm. This was serious. 

So when I finally got around to the things I needed to do about midday, they needed my help with something. Of course. I've tried to be better about not dropping what I'm doing and attending to their every whim and having them do for themselves what they were able to, but this task involved a permanent marker, so I told them they had to wait until I was done. 

And when you're six or seven, waiting is really hard. We're talking excruciating. 

No sooner did I turn the vacuum back on and I noticed Clayton was missing from the table where they were all supposed to be sitting eating lunch. He had already grabbed the permanent marker and was getting ready to take care of it himself when I stopped him.

"What does wait mean?" I asked. The question was met with a side glance and shrugged shoulders.

"Does it mean get up out of your chair and write it yourself?" I'll give you a hint: NO. 

"It means sit there until I'm done, and I will help you."

Do you ever say something, and no sooner is it out of your mouth and you feel God saying those exact words right back to you? Ya, parenting can be a b$%&* like that sometimes.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 

We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. Proverbs 16:9

I was expecting a friend in the afternoon, and after this morning's fiasco, I was quite behind on the housework on the main floor to make the house even presentable, let alone clean. It is amazing what you can get done in a hurry if you need to, though, and I was able to get the floors cleaned up and swept in time.

As I finished up, it occurred to me that if she had been a little early, even just 5 or 10 minutes, she would've been greeted with a very different house. A much, much dirtier house. In those 10 minutes I was able to get the entire kitchen picked up and swept, thus leaving the house looking…clean. 

To wait means...

To linger, to be expectant, await, linger, abide, in readiness for, look forward to eagerly,  a watch{wo}man.

It doesn't mean…

Continuing, acting, going, doing, taking care of it yourself…

We can plan all we want but it's the Lord who orders our steps. He makes it possible; He makes it come to pass. And in HIS timing, not ours. Not a moment too soon, not a moment too late. 

You see, if we try to take care of it ourselves, if we try to force it or make it happen, the Lord isn't ready yet. He doesn't have all the pieces in their perfect place. 

Life is like this big elaborate chess board, and the Lord is the Ultimate Strategist. He has all the moves planned out, but it takes time. One move at a time. One piece at a time.

One move creates an opportunity for another, and another, and they build upon each other. This strategic and purposeful dance around the board, courting and watching and waiting for one another. All the pieces are important, and each serve their purpose. 

And in the end, it's all about the King. 

It's the King that directs our moves and orders our steps, and it's for His glory. 

He's always working; He's always moving. 

Do you see Him? Are you watching? Because if you are, you'll see it. 

We are a people who are so busy going and doing and acting and taking care of it ourselves that we forget to wait on God. We forget that we need to, that He's the one who makes it happen anyways. We've forgotten that in the end it's all about the King. 

And the King has to work in you before He can work through you. He has a strategy. He has a plan for your life {Jer. 29:11}, but it's one move at a time, and it will take time. 

And the Ultimate Strategist? Ya, He's already won.