One of the hardest things to do, when we are faced with a life transition or difficulty, is to be patient.  We so dislike the vulnerability that comes with uncertainty — that feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.   We want our situations to be resolved.  We want to feel secure again.

If only we could know ahead of time how everything turns out.

Whether our situations involve a heartache, a physical healing, a fiscal insufficiency, or just the unease and stress that comes with work and family, we yearn to arrive at a place where we can take a deep breath and see it handled.  

The thing about life, I am learning, is that we are constantly in flux, bobbing and weaving between our challenges and our victories.  We no sooner feel that one aspect of our circumstance has been resolved, when another presents itself.  We never truly arrive at a place of complete nirvana.  Something is always tugging at our hearts, needing our attention, or causing us pain or anxiety in little or big ways.  

That’s just the way it goes.

I have learned a lot on this present journey that I am on.  I have learned that my emotions can run amok, causing me to listen to that voice that whispers reasons why my heart is still not fully mended.  It reminds me of my fears.  It stokes the fire of loneliness, and paints pictures within my mind of a desired future that may never be fulfilled.

All are lies.

God tells us that He is with us always.  Even when we can’t feel Him. Even when it seems all hope is lost.  Even when we feel desperate and alone.  

Like a needle with a golden thread, God weaves together all the situations and details of our lives so that they come together for our good.   We can’t imagine how it will be.  We can’t know when.  We only know that somehow He is working it all out for our benefit.

God’s time is not always synced with our own.  He has His reasons for what He does.  Because He knows the end from the beginning, He knows things we never will.  He knows when people need to be removed from our lives, when better opportunities await us, when even an illness will cause us to reevaluate our priorities and find new purpose.   None of this happens without suffering, but it happens for our good, even when we cannot see it yet.

Patience is a virtue we all need more of.

When you are in the midst of a fight, when you toss and turn, unable to rest, when you can’t see your way out of a difficult circumstance, know that it takes a while for God to put all the pieces in place.  He has to get our hearts right, pruning — not just the parts or us that require attention — but people who no longer have our best interest.  He aligns us with new opportunities that come disguised as misfortune.  He plants the seeds of new beginnings in the soil of our faith.

God’s time is brought along by our trusting Him to work things out. He wants for us to look up, focusing on Him, expectant that — although things are difficult — we are watching for His hand to wipe away our tears and fill us again with gladness.  He wants for us to temper our frustrations with the knowing that He is turning our mourning into dancing. He wants us to believe Him when He says He knows what is coming, and it is good.

I wish that I could offer something here that would sooth your every hurt, your fears, your tendency to believe the whispers that come to convince you to spiral into despair.   All I can tell you is what I know to be true.

God is bringing you through your storm.  He is with you always.

Pray for patience and know that He will bless you with it.  Focus on His promises, His Word

Sometimes, it takes a while.  But never forget that His timing is always perfect.