Have you ever felt to much anticipation over things coming up in your life that you find yourself wanting to speed God up? I’m sure we all have… I’m there.
We’re in a period of waiting – hopefully the end of such period that we’ve been in for some time. As my previous posts have suggested, God is doing some amazing things in the Wiebes’ lives. It’s humbling and exciting. James is only 2 weeks into his new job, Ellie is now attending the elementary school nearest my aunt and uncle’s house and just started there yesterday. We’re getting to know our new pastor and his wife and believe God orchestrated the relationship in such an amazing way. I’m sort of itching to get to know her even better, and James seems to feel the same. We’re getting to know our new church family, and there’s so much fun in that, too. We’re a family of 5 living in a home with my aunt and uncle and their family law practice (complete with multiple employees who are here throughout the week). We’re completely grateful, but being in transition this long is of course not easy. I attended my first “Over the Coffee Cup” Bible Study last night and greatly enjoyed the time in the word with other women.
There’s a large part of me that wants to move things ahead.
- I’m ready to get past the “get to know you” phase and be in deep relationship with our Pastor and his wife as well as the church family.
- I want to jump feet first into helping in ministry. I feel God asking me to wait, so I’ll obey, but I want to HELP!
- And yes, of course we want our house sold and to start dreaming about where our family will move. I’d even like God to just go ahead and give me a specific date on this one. So far, he’s not biting.
But that’s just it, right? There are lessons in the waiting. Important ones that I don’t want to miss. I know what some of them are now, so I’m doing my best to try and get them learned! And some I don’t know but I want to learn those, too. I remind myself that a few months of this life will be looked back upon and considered a blip.
I also know that God is working it all for good. Some may wonder why God would ask us to move to Denver and then not sell our house. Believe me – I’ve had times where I’ve wondered, too. But I can tell you what I THINK the answer could be. There were some terrible comparables for our house in the late fall. They were preventing us from getting a fair price on our home. I think in our desperation, James and I were tempted to accept way less than what our house was really worth. (When will we learn, right?!) Due to some various issues, we’ve chosen to change realtors. First of all, our new realtors are Christians and have already prayed over our listing with us on the phone. We’re optimistic about their ability to sell our house and are excited they’ll get the commission. They’ve also shown us that there are much better comparables that have come through in the last month or so. This will allow for us to get a better price on the home, and we’re expecting the house to appraise for a more fair price as well. In addition to that, I think God is also working out the timing so that the home he wants us to purchase is available at the right price at the right time when we’re able to make an offer. I’ll finish that part of the story once it has happened, but I truly believe that’s the case.
My Bible study last night was on choosing holy living over our own happiness. I equate this to wanting God’s will above my own. It’s a hard place to get to, but it’s so freeing once you’re there. I don’t claim to have permanently learned the lesson, mind you. I think it’s one you must learn over and over again – every time your desire creeps up to high in the priority list. But I’ve learned it a couple of times recently and am committed to keep myself in that place.
For a practical example, there’s a house in the mountains that my flesh wants to fall in love with and cling to. I WANT to go to any lengths to make it ours. But I won’t. In fact, I refuse. By God’s grace, I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t want to be ANY where that he doesn’t want me to be. Ever. Do I hope that he is planning this home for us? I do. I really do. But it’s one of those situations where many doors would have to open. It’s not even on the market right now! And God will either open them, or he won’t. And if he doesn’t, I may be sad for a day or two, but I would never force a door open that he hadn’t opened. I’ll trust him as this isn’t just our home. It will be the starting point for a church he’s allowing us to lead in a few years. How could we want to buy a home anywhere than exactly where he leads. There will be people nearby affected significantly by something as insignificant as our home purchase. It’s mind boggling, really.
So, today’s lesson he’s trying to teach me? Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the wait. Be grateful for it. And I am. We’re way less busy than usual, because we don’t know many people here. I have time to write this blog, for example. And I played Uno with my four year old this morning. And we’ve been skiing twice and are going for the following 4 Saturdays (for some consistent lessons for the girls). James 1:2 says to “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” Our trials are minor right now. In fact, I’m not even sure you can really call them trials. But the principle is the same. I’ve challenged myself to get to the point where I WANT the kinds of trials that develop perseverance. Is that crazy? Perhaps. But if they produce good in us, even if painful – wouldn’t we want to go through the pain for the end result? I hope so.
