Waiting is seriously
hard. Waiting for Tricia, Troy, and
little Madelyn to come home from China is a test of strength. The thing is . . . Tricia called from China
yesterday. She had ten minutes left on the
phone that they were using to check on their official appointments and other
needs. I had been in the midst of making
breakfast for Tim and his friends who were studying at our house, getting
ready for their college exams this week.
So. I almost did not pick the phone up in the midst of all the morning
craziness. But . . . I had the thought
that it might be Tricia. It seems like
that might have been a God-idea. When
she said hello to me . . . well . .. I was a crying mess.
Listening to her just
made me want to see them all that much more.
I can’t wait until their plane lands tomorrow morning. Of course, while we have been waiting we have been
getting prepared . . . buying the supplies they have requested, purchasing
fresh food, making favorite things to eat . . . and getting their list of
things ready in their home. Above all,
we continually ask God to be in their midst as they make the journey home.
The book of Joshua is
the story of what happens when the waiting comes to a close and they make their
way to their promised homeland. The
story makes it clear that we need to be prepared for what comes after the
waiting. Joshua 4:12 lists the groups that prepared for
battle to take the land. They were
prepared and ready to be launched into battle.
Imagine the nervous
energy that spread throughout the people as they engaged in the plan of
God: The
sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over
in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them . .
.
Waiting is not meant
to be a do-nothing period of time but a time of preparation. When you come down to it, waiting is an art. It is a season of life that can be difficult, but allows us to launch into the next season with prepared anticipation for what is to come.
Wait.
Prepare.
Anticipate.
Learning with you to
KICK START the day and waiting in preparation for what God has planned.
Pastor Kerrie
(written by
Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/