Anticipating Life's Ice-cream

It is hard to wait. 

It's really hard to wait.

It's hard to wait for the things we want...

...and it's hard to wait for the things we think we don't want.

It's hard to sit back, un-clench our fists and lift our eyes to the Lord.

"Lord Jesus, I will wait for You. I won't take this into my hands. I will trust You."

In theory? Yes. It's easy. It's just a little giving-up, right?

 In practice, waiting is one of the hardest things we are called as Christians to do. We think we know what's right--how many many times have I been guilty of this! We think we've let go. We really do. And yet when God reaches to take away that thing we want, we hold tight.

 "No, Lord! That wasn't in the plan! I thought You were telling me to go in this direction! All roads were leading toward it! What do You mean that's not the way we're going?!"

We fuss and cry and clench our fists and all the while God is only waiting for us to let go of our grubby plans so that He may give us something infinitely better. I'm not saying it will always be easy to accept God's will and God's plan. But I do have this confidence: That He who has begun a good work in you is able to complete it.

He doesn't take things away and leave us hanging, empty-handed, empty-hearted.

 He does not delight in stripping us of the good things. 

He delights in gifting us with the best things.

And it is this very paradox that hangs us up and ties our soul in knots and causes angst and pain and worry. Because we have the minds of silly little children. We see our Father taking our lollipop away and don't see the ice-cream sundae He's holding behind his back. Our lollipop is going away and that's all we know [and care, frankly] about the matter.

We can't understand the ways God works until we are with Him in Heaven at the end of our earthly journey. We'll see then (and often before then) why He took certain things away, and how the things He then bestowed were so much better.

So let's all anticipate the ice-cream and let go of Life's lollipops. He promises He's got better things in store for those who wait upon Him. 

The Apple Doesn't Fall far From the Tree ;)

We had a wonderful week at Daughters of Destiny and have come home tired, happy, and bitter-sweet, having left a number of good friends [old and new] back in Pinnacle, NC. :) I thought I'd share a very simple, very true thought the speaker shared on the very last night:

She said that we young ladies were like apples.

 We God-following, Christ-loving, pure young ladies are the apples on the top of the tree: the ones with the sweetest flesh, the best flavor, the  prettiest appearance. But the top of a tree can be a lonely spot.

 We see the young men who glance up at us on the top of the tree but are not brave or strong enough to make the climb. We see the apples at the bottom of the tree, within arm's reach, being plucked and taken home by the droves. But those apples, so available, are rotten on the inside. The real prizes are us, away up on the topmost branches. But as we watch the windfalls being picked up we begin to think that there must be something wrong with us. We must not be good enough--those rotten apples must be better....
Can you see where this is going? Mrs. Bjorlie (the speaker) cautioned us to wait and pray and know that the worth-while men, the ones who will fulfill all God asks in a husband, are the ones who have the strength of character and purpose to make the climb to the top of the tree to pick one of the best apples. We mustn't give up hope and complain that the rotten apples are being chosen--wouldn't it be far better to bide time and wait for the harvester who would appreciate the purity and beauty of a prize apple? I think so. :) ~Rachel

To put it shortly:

 

:) Gotta love it!

Waiting-delighting quotes

Hi Everybody! This is almost like a Q&A post, but it isn't. :) Instead, I've noticed that so many young women I talk to are working at delighting in the Lord and waiting for His plan. Many of them are wondering if they will ever get married or if they do, when? And many other things of that nature. So I have seen tons of great quotes on different blogs, and I thought that anyone who had a good quote or piece of Scripture related to this topic could leave it as a comment! Then whoever wants to can read this and get a big chunk of godly wisdom in one spot! -Rachel