The Waiting

So, if you know me, you probably know I am crap at waiting. I mean, constant pout-fest. Whining, tantrums. Srsly, I'm actually still three years old.

So this semester has been a time of waiting. Waiting on Stephen; waiting on the Lord; waiting on myself. It is said that hope deferred makes the heart sick and I've been feeling that. I also know a certain pastor John who says, "the problem with persevering is that it feels like persevering."

I was pleased that the Lord gave me the hint that this was what my semester was going to look like. I am grateful He gave me the warning; who knows how my behavior would have been if He hadn't! Just bein' real...

But on Tuesday, the Lord (and Stephen) assented to my desire. And it has (no joke) felt just like my birthday every day since. What's even better (and what made the waiting, in my mind, even harder) was that the longing of my heart is also a longing of the Lord's (I believe). So it is a tree of life.

I can't wait to share more with you, but I'll leave you with this: November is national orphan awareness month. Srsly, think about your parents (by parents, I mean the people who raised you). Sure, they have flaws - some niggling, some serious - but you'd rather have imperfect parents than no parents at all, right? For almost all of us, we can at least find something for which we are profoundly grateful. My parents have loved me through some really difficult and self-inflicted trials. They stuck by me and tell me how proud they are of me. They gave me everything I had going into my marriage (except for a coffee table and a bust of Napoleon; those I bought with money I earned). I cannot imagine growing up without them. Or a family at all.

162 MILLION children in this world don't have parents. If you take God seriously, this means something to us. Let's care.