On waiting....

Our roof leaked.

So, we wait. We've been getting a lot of rain around here and knew there was a problem with it. We had a roofer take a look and he applied what he called a "band aid". It didn't work.

We wait until we hear what the next steps are. New roof? Was there more damage done than originally thought? Or will it be an "easy" fix just around the chimney? We know we need it fixed. We know it will cost money. And that's about all we know.

So, like I said, we wait.

I started thinking of times in my life when I've waited. I waited for my husband to propose to me. I waited to hear each of my boys' first cries after being born, assuring me they were okay and into the world. I've waited for illnesses to pass. For birthdays to come. I realized I have spent a lot of my life waiting.

And each of those times, an answer or an event came. And passed. And I wasn't completely shattered. Not even once. In fact, there are some instances when I am glad that the Lord made me wait. Am thankful for it now.

I also started thinking about friends. I thought of my friend who wants to do the Lord's work overseas but just can't find enough funds for her mission work. I think of my friends that have waited, waited, waited to have a baby. Or those that have, and still are, waiting to find a mate. I think of "mom friends" that wait for a diagnosis for their child. We wait in line at the grocery store. We wait for so many things.

And then I think of my boys. They wait for snack time. They wait for their punishments to pass. They wait to go to Grandpa and Grandma's house. They wait for Tuesdays to come (Tuesdays mean video game day and since it's summer, Wipeout is on TV too--a very big day for the kids....)

We all wait. And how we wait can say a lot about us. And it can be a testament of what and Who we believe in.

Those of us with kids know that they look at us and copy us, whether we like them to or not. They are watching me as I wait to hear news on the roofing situation. I believe my boys understand these things: 1. Our roof has a leak and that's a bad thing. 2. My oldest, because of respiratory issues, has to be gone while part of the interior gets fixed. 3. It's going to cost us money. They don't have a huge understanding of money, but I think they are getting the idea of how expensive this might be because of some hushed (and admittedly, not so hushed) conversations between Mommy and Daddy.

I have not shown them an example of peaceful waiting. I have not shown them very well that there are times when we don't have all the answers, that they will come, and that the Lord will be glorified, no matter what the answer may be. I have tried, and may have succeeded at times, to show a peaceful wait in progress, but most of the time, what they have seen from me is an anxious heart.

I know I have friends praying for us and I feel them right now. Oh, to have a community that prays for us! For friends that not only check on us to see how we are doing emotionally, but friends that invite us to move in with them if we have to for a bit, for friends that just want to be there to support us. We are so blessed.

With those blessings in mind, this afternoon I am restful. And peaceful. The Lord will provide for us as he graciously has in the past.

We don't know what the answers will be. But, we trust that it is for the good of those of us in this house that love Him.

His will be done.

Kristin