What are you waiting for? And how well are you doing at waiting in your wait? Life is really one wait after another. Read on as Amanda Grace Caldwell shares her discoveries in the "meanwhile" moments.
Elisa
Joy In-Between
By Amanda Grace Caldwell
My friend and I drove down I-45 like a couple of convicts. The windows were rolled down and I could smell the salt in the air as we made it to the coast. My feet were planted firmly on the dashboard as we sang at the top of our lungs - not a care in the world.
We had literally made a U-turn. I had a prior engagement; we both had a list of to-dos. But our souls craved spontaneity and so, we fled, like Johnny and June.
We made it to Galveston by dusk. I got out of the car and walked towards the beach. We danced in the sand and climbed from rock to rock until we got the perfect view of the sunset.
I laughed as I saw the clouds kiss the waves. The lights on the Ferris wheel began to light up the darkening sky. And as I breathed in humid air and felt salty skin, I felt content.
That day we drove to Galveston? I was waiting for love. I was asking God to bring me the one I will share my life with. A man whose last name I could take as my own and a man who would offer my heart safekeeping.
We are all waiting for something. The longing might be benign like yearning for Friday to come or for our children to clean up their rooms.
Other times, the longing might feel excruciating. There are those waiting for their spouse to return. Waiting for a miraculous healing. Or waiting for their deepest desire to be fulfilled. In these moments of deep wanting, we might wonder - does God still see me? Does he still love me?
In my backyard is a hammock tied between two fences. There is a string of lights dangling above the patio that brings light and beauty to nightly dinners and to hammock readings.
I reclined there one evening and watched the lights twinkle against the contrasting night sky, and it hit me. A ray of light is comprised of dozens of tiny bulbs. Similarly, a life of joy and contentment is made up of dozens of tiny moments.
We are all in a state of in-between. Whether we are dating, single, engaged or married. Working inside the home or outside of the home. Or whether we have a bounty of kids, are childless or empty nesters. We are all in-between something.
We are all waiting for something. But God, in his goodness, brings us moments of joy in-between. It's a moment of connection or laughter or glee. It's a moment of peace or of spontaneity.
And if we count these moments, one by one, we end up with much more than a ray of light. We end up with a ray of hope.
Today, let's open our eyes to the tiny moments of glee. The moments God is using to bring us joy and contentment in the in-between. And may we laugh at whirling Ferris wheels and dance on sandy beaches. Because the truth is, God is right here with us: smack dab in the in-between.
Amanda Grace Caldwell lives in Houston - a city full of good people, Tex-Mex (her favorite!), a lot of humidity and the overwhelming sense of home. She is the author of Meanwhile: What To Do While You Wait. Amanda Grace is a counselor and serves in the women's ministry at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. She has a B.A. in Marketing from Texas A&M University and a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary. Connect with her at agracespace.com.