I was driving down highway 45, kind of lost in thought and absent-mindedly admiring the gorgeous sunset in my rear-view mirror, when it hit me. (Does that ever happen to you? It seems like some of my most genius thoughts come at the most random of moments. Like when I’m either eating Cheerios or driving down long highways.)
The thought that hit me was this: Right now isn’t a season of waiting. “Okaaaaay, Caelan…” you might say skeptically, “That’s nice…” No! You don’t get it. This was a really big deal to me. And it was definitely a God thing, because I couldn’t have come up with it by myself. A little context for my crazy thought blurb might be helpful here. :) First, I’m going to have to admit that I’m a hopeless romantic. Maybe it’s just a girl thing. I’m also a big reader, and I’m pretty interested in human behavior type writing. The combination of those traits mean that I have read a LOT of books, websites, and blogs about relationships. And one thing I’ve started to notice is how many Christian relationship authors and bloggers write about… The Season of Waiting [cue dramatic music]. Maybe that’s a bit over the top. But honestly, it’s portrayed that way. I kind of picture it as this gray, fuzzy, low lying cloud, stretching out before and around me. I can’t see through it, I don’t know what’s on the other side, I have no idea how to get through it. All I’ve been told is that I will get through it eventually, and when I do, my Season of Waiting will be joyously over, and I’ll get experience whatever happy Thing it is I’ve been waiting FOR. I get the impression that in this Season of Waiting, Christian women ought to be quiet, heroic, and persevering, never complaining, drying our tears in private and pushing through with calm patience. We are told to “find joy” in our season of waiting, and “lean on God” in our season of waiting, and “be content” in our season of waiting. But never fear, they say, for at some point it will be OVER! You will be through the never-ending gray cloud and reach your Destination, whatever that is. Right now I’m at a point in my life that many would call a season of waiting. I’ve felt it myself. Waiting for a clear direction for my major. Waiting for my last year of high-school to be over. Waiting to go to college. Waiting for a romantic relationship, waiting for marriage, waiting for life to start, just WAITING. Can you relate? My reaction to all these emotions about the things I so strongly desire and am waiting for is to throw all my feelings at God, a sort of messy, pent-up ball of squishy-ness and poky things. I question him, I cry against how long he’s making me walk through this cloud, I ask him over and over again to give me strength to get through this period of waiting, to give me faith that he knows what he’s doing. (I mean… does God REALLY know better than I do? He does have billions of people to care for, so maybe he’s forgotten that it’s about time he fulfilled that specific dream of mine…) That’s why his words to me as a drove along I-45 were a really big deal. The thing is, if I view the present as a season of waiting, I’ll never live in the abundant life that God has for me RIGHT NOW, at this very moment. In John 10:10 Christ says this: “I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” There is NO qualifier after that. If my trust is in Christ, it’s not “life in all its fullness once she starts college.” It’s not “life in all its fullness once she gets starts a romantic relationship.” Y’all, life abundant in him is for the right here, right now. The problem with defining (or even describing!) our lives in terms of that niggly “season of waiting” is that it implies there’s something you’re waiting for. But the thing is, God has not called us to wait, for anything else but him and his kingdom. He calls us to live for him right now, in this moment. RIGHT NOW is my destination, is the ultimate, is the greatest time of my life, because God has things for me to do and see and experience and learn RIGHT NOW. I don’t have to “wait and see” what God’s plans are for me, like it’s some grand mysterious thing that will happen some day, because if I am living and walking in his Spirit, his plan for me IS right now! And y’all, we’re missing it. We’re so caught up in waiting for God to fulfill our dreams and desires, or waiting for those cool things God will do in our future, that we miss the amazing things he wants to do inside of us right now. We’re missing the people he’s putting in our paths to influence. We’re missing the mentors who could be pouring into us. We’re missing the incredible blessings that we write off as small and cliche, like FAMILY. And sunsets. And walks along shady paths, and hugs, and prayer, and intimate times of fellowship with God as he speaks to us and grows us when we humble ourselves before him. We’re so focused on looking for the forest that we miss the trees surrounding us on all sides. Psalm 16:11 tells us that in God’s presence is FULLNESS of joy. So why wait? Why pin our joy on some future hope or event when we can experience it in this moment? We can be growing exponentially in holiness right now, we don’t have to wait until we’re old and doing good supposedly comes easier. We can be rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances right now, walking in God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 5). We can be living in the unceasing joy of the very presence of God each moment, if we so choose, his light giving radiance to the everyday happenings of our lives HERE and NOW. So maybe it’s time for a change in perspective. I’m not in a season of waiting. I’m right in the center of abundant life.
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AuthorHey, I'm Caelan! I'm a sophomore at Baylor University and love life and the world God has created for us to explore through learning, the arts, and the outdoors. But most of all, I seek to know HIM. Psalm 34:5 says that those who look to God are radiant. I desire to shine the radiance and glory of the Father, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Soli Deo Gloria Archives
November 2019
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