Life on E Street has been a bit hectic lately. We added a baby girl to our family a few months ago and adjusting to life with a newborn at the (not so young) age of 39, plus keeping up with a kid in band and chorus, has kept me quite busy…not to mention the added stress of the holidays on top of it all. I feel things are starting to settle a bit so that I can stay on top of our Life on E Street.
I have written before about facing a mountain and the choice we made to climb that mountain. We felt God leading us down one path only to reach the end and be told “not yet”. I had so many thoughts going through my head that day, mainly one of deception. I felt God move us in this direction only to be told no, or not yet. As I was lamenting to a very sweet friend of mine she quickly changed my perspective. She said, “it’s like when Abraham took Isaac to the top of the mountain. He went with the purpose to sacrifice his son, only to be given a ram when she showed that he would do what he was told. You’ve taken the step in faith that God asked you to take, now you need to wait on your ram.”
I was speechless after that, because she was right. I did what I felt called to do, so now we just have to wait.
I used to pride myself in being patient, then I realized that I am only patient in a few things, and waiting on God is NOT one of those things. We live in such a fast-paced society where everything is literally at our finger tips and can be delivered in two days or less. (I am typing this post from my phone because I can’t wait long enough to get home to my computer!)
We have been conditioned to think that if we ask for it then it should happen right now. “Your way, right away” as the old slogan used to go. But God isn’t a short-order cook to serve up our requests in minutes or even hours. Sometimes it just takes time.
So here we are, sitting at the top of our mountain, living life on pause.
Here’s a little insight for you: I don’t currently live with my husband. His job has him living in one place and due to the custody agreement I have with my son’s father, I live in another. It’s not an easy, “just quit your job and move” type decision. So now we have this beautiful little girl and we are making the best of the situation we are in. This year we are praying for BIG answers from a BIG God in a BIG way. God is and always has been faithful; but we have to remain patient.
So we live on pause.
Another sweet friend of mine posted on Facebook about her word for the year and I shared with her that a few years ago my word was faith, followed the next year with hope. However, this year, its patience. I have learned that you can’t have hope without faith, and you can’t have patience without hope.
So how do you LIVE on PAUSE? Ha. I’m still trying to figure that one out, but truthfully you just keep living, praying, and believing that it will all come together and it will all work out (I’m clinging to Romans 8:28 on that). Until then, we rack up some serious miles traveling back and forth to be together as a family. It’s not ideal, in fact it’s quite exhausting; but for now this is the path we are called to take. So we practice the pause and simply enjoy every moment we have together.
Nothing is taken for granted. Everything is in His hands. It’s all in His time, His way, and for His glory.
When God is asking you to wait, there is always a reason. Trust in His promise and in His plan. His ways are better and He sees things we can’t. I pray we get to hit the “Play” button soon, but until then we will learn from the “Pause”.
Life on E Street 