Every moment of our lives we wait. 

We wait for our alarm to sound and open our eyes completely unaware that we are in fact waiting. We wait in line at the grocery store, at the coffee shop, and on our cell for someone to reply to a text. We wait for our health to improve, the home renovation project to be complete, the vacation we have planned to arrive, or the child we long to conceive to be brought into the world. 

We wait for spring to become summer and fall leaves to blanket the ground to welcome in winter. In the church, we anticipate Christmas with the liturgical season of advent and embrace the cross of lent praying, fasting, and giving alms. Some of the best things in life come from waiting. 

Sometimes we are unaware we are even waiting like when wait for our next breath. Other times waiting is filled with hopeful anticipation. Then there are times when waiting is filled with anxiety and fear. 

I can remember a time when I was waiting for a diagnosis to determine if I had multiple sclerosis. Waiting to understand symptoms that progressed daily and wondering if I would be able to walk felt like torture. Waiting for MRIs to be scheduled, results to come in, and then what my future would look like felt endless. That is until I found the beauty in waiting.

Stay in the Present 

Whenever I’m in a season of waiting, I’m reminded to live in the present rather than fear the unknown. We can play the worst-case scenario mind-game and begin to go down a negative spiral, but God wants us to remain in the now. 

Our imagination can play games with us and have us twenty steps ahead of the step we need to take today. Pay attention to the people in front of you and accomplish the tasks that needs to get done today, not next week. Be present to the little blessings that happen throughout the day and find beauty in waiting for tomorrow to reveal its own miracles.

Let Go; Don't Give Up

More than likely what you are waiting on is outside your control. As Elsa says, “Let it Go!” and as I say, give it to God. Easier said than done, right? 

I’m one of those people who will fight to retain control and only surrender when I am exhausted. 

The beauty I have found in relinquishing control is in realizing that letting go is not giving up. Jesus taught us on the cross that letting go was not giving up; it was giving into the will of the Father.

Ultimately, that is what we are doing when we embrace the beauty of relinquishing control in a season of waiting. We are giving in, or rather, accepting the will of the Father.

Let People In & Relieve the Burden

Finding trusted friends to be transparent and honest with our frustrations and need for prayerful encouragement is one of the greatest blessings in a season of waiting. 

I have a friend who waited through years of infertility to have a child. She was transparent with her longing with friends and family, and when she did conceive, we all rejoiced alongside her. 

You are never alone in the waiting unless you keep people at a distance. Loneliness makes the waiting harder.

Invite trusted friends into your long-suffering. Then, when the wait is over you can celebrate together all that God has done.

Trust in God’s Timing (Over and Over Again)

I have this saying, “All in God’s perfect timing.” We are incredibly impatient with everything being so instantaneous: entire seasons steaming at once versus one week at a time; grabbing fast food rather than cooking and sharing a meal; Venmo instead of mailing a check. 

Matthew 6:25-34 reminds us to not worry about our life and what we will drink, eat, or wear. If you are forcing something to happen, are you really trusting in God’s timing? Ask yourself as you wait, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27) Trust in God’s timing and surrender more fully to His will again, and again, and again. The blessing from doing so will be a stronger relationship with your heavenly Father.

Our Mother Mary understood God’s perfect timing. Even when her heart was pierced repeatedly, she trusted in the Father’s will, leaned into the community of disciples, relinquished control, and remained present to her Son. Embrace seasons of waiting like our Mother Mary, there is beauty to be found.