You know when you played hide-and-seek as a kid, and while you were hiding, you always had to pee? Every. Time. That feeling of anticipation. The quiet stillness. The waiting.
Of course, kids games are not the only reason in life that we have to wait. We wait in traffic, wait in line at stores, wait for grades to be posted, wait (not so patiently,) for summer. We wait for replies to job and internship applications, teachers to return emails, and for the days to be over. We wait for God.
I have prayed many times: God, please, I just need to know NOW if I should [insert somewhat important life decision]... but usually to no avail. I can only recall one time getting an answered prayer quickly after praying, but it was after praying for several days. Humans, by nature, are impatient. We are so used to getting what we want when we want it, and it's hard to get the answer "just wait." Patience is a virtue, after all.
On my dorm floor, we have a "take what you need" board that everyone can contribute to. As I walked down the hallway tonight, a particular one caught my eye. It was hot pink and said "God's Voice." For some reason, I felt like I needed to take that one. When I flipped it, it said:
"My daughter, do you trust me when my answer is 'wait'? - God"
WHACK. It hit me like a brick. April is a hectic month. Everyone is getting engaged and married. School is taking a toll on everyone and we are all getting angsty for summer. I am guilty of being impatient about all of these things. I know there is no rush, but when you see everything happening and these thoughts get in your head, you feel like they must be done right then. I see everyone's beautiful engagement photos and I want to get engaged and start my family. I want to move into my own house. I want to finish all my schoolwork. I want to graduate and have kids and move on to the "real world."
But that is not what God wants for me right now.
I am not a fan of people responding to others' stress with "God has a plan for you" or "Just pray about it," but God really does have a plan. It doesn't always help to think about it when you're stressed because you think, "But I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." It doesn't help you make decisions, but think about this:
If you were meant to be engaged right now, God would have had that happen.
If you were supposed to be living on your own right now, God would have arranged circumstances for you to do that.
If you were supposed to have your own family by now, God would have had you born earlier, or had your life progress in a different manner.
But I am at none of those stages, so obviously God is not ready for me to be there yet. That means I am not ready to be there yet, even if I think I am.
So if you are getting angsty about something right now, be patient. God really does have a plan, and you just aren't there yet.
