While I'm waiting

Have you ever been excited about something in the future, whether for certain or just a possibility, and all you could do with your excitement is .... WAIT?

I mean, as I wait for my brother and his family to come for a week, I can prepare. Cook, clean, organize, rearrange, grocery shop, mow the lawn, whatever.

As we wait for the right time to get things moving on our land (build a shop, sell the house? build a house!?), there is little more that we can do in preparation besides save money and simplify our current lives. I mean, if money were no object, we would be building and moving, but God has called us to live debt-free, and we're not going to jump back into the debt pool anytime soon. Or ever, ideally. And he hasn't dropped a million bucks in our laps to say, "Go, do!"

There are a couple directions my mind keeps going when I think about our potential changes and our waiting:

First, not even my next breath is a certainty, let alone tomorrow, let alone next year! I have to be vigilantly careful not to be putting my hope in what's to come in this life.
On that same train of thought, making plans with wisdom and discretion is not a bad thing, as long as we don't get obsessive. While we think it would be amazing to clean up our dumpy 20 acres and have Randy's shop up and running, building and renting cool bikes, build a super-efficient low-maintenance home, and get my studio going again too, all of that is not even for-sure what God would have us do! We'll make plans, tentatively, until he stops us or puts us on another path.

Secondly, there are a lot of things that we are prioritizing above this dream of moving and building. The health of our marriage, for example. Our family's/children's needs. Ministering to others. Making meals, doing the dishes and sweeping the floor. Pursuing our knowledge of the Lord; continuing getting to know him in a personal (and theologically sound) way; growing satisfaction in him.

Thirdly, but not in order of importance, these earthly plans of ours are definitely NOT for sure. (Have I mentioned that already?) But something else IS absolute: this life is a vapor - a mist - a blink of an eye. And then we have all eternity. Waiting for Christ's return is something believers are supposed to be doing. Ready at all times. Keep the oil in my lamp, keep it burning, burning, burning.
But so many believers have lived and died since Christ ascended, and more will (probably us too) before he comes again. What do we do while we wait?

This could become a really long post as I reference many scripture passages to answer that question. I would rather go mix up some bread dough and let YOU do some reading with that question in mind: what do we do while we wait? In the mean time, another song's lyrics come to mind (did you catch the first one?) :

I’m waiting, I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience



While I’m waiting, I will serve You
While I’m waiting, I will worship
While I’m waiting, I will not faint
I’ll be running the race, Even while I wait

I’m waiting, I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it’s not easy
But faithfully, I will wait

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