Waiting For Eggs And God

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY!!”  She tugged on my shirt as she jumped up and down.  “Mommy, I need the eggs!  I can’t wait to paint the eggs!”

Her excitement tickled me.  Can you believe I have a six year-old and this is the first year I bought one of those little kits to dye eggs with her? I’ve always tried to do an alternative Easter craft since I grew up on the PAAS kits and felt like doing something different with my own kids.  But this year I gave in to the known quantity and spent the $1.29 for the kit.

And she was so excited.  She just couldn’t wait.  The kit was open, the pictures were there, and this artistic girl of mine could not wait to start creating.

But I was moving a little more slowly than she liked.  You see, I had things to do.  Adult things to do.

Things like boiling the eggs so I’d actually have something for her to paint.  Things like emailing her daddy because some changes were happening at work; he was updating me and I was encouraging him.  Things like cleaning out the sink so I’d be able to make dinner for them that night.

And as we stood there in the kitchen together (well, I stood at the sink, she wiggled and jumped everywhere) I tried to explain to her that everything I was doing was for her good, and for a purpose.  “Honey, I know you want to paint the eggs right now, but I have to boil them first, and then they have to cool off.  So we’re going to do it, but it’s going to take a little bit.”  I tried to tell her that even though things weren’t moving as quickly as she wanted, that I wasn’t moving as quickly as she wanted, that in the meantime while she waited I was doing important things… important things with her wellbeing in mind.  But she couldn’t see it.  All she knew was that she was making requests and I wasn’t answering.

And it hit me.  (I bet you know what.)  We are just like that when we’re waiting on God.

We want the eggs and we want them Now!  If God doesn’t answer us right away then we think He didn’t hear.  Or worse, that He doesn’t care.

But He is always working, always moving, always putting the pieces into place for our good.  Even when we can’t see it.  He is a loving Father, after all.

And since it was Easter week, I thought of another time that His beloved ones waited on Him and thought they had no answer.  A time when God’s greatest work happened underground.

What were they thinking while Jesus lay in the tomb?  What did they feel when their faithful leader died and was buried?  How did they pray for the next three days when it seemed like there was no answer?

Some of the fears that are common to the human heart must have spoken to them then, even those faithful followers, the ones who’d walked with Him.  What a dark and scary time that must have been.  How could they escape from fears like:  God doesn’t love me.  He didn’t hear our prayers.  He doesn’t care.

And yet, for those three days, invisible to them, God was working.  Underground.  And at the end of their waiting was the greatest miracle of all.

My sweet girl’s request was finally answered.  We painted and stickered and dropped eggs.  Six of them have survived and they’re sitting on my counter now.

And I thought about the lesson in patience.  A lesson that’s as hard for me to learn as it is for my kindergartner.  Waiting can be hard.  You see, as I write, we’re still waiting to find out what will happen with my husband’s job.*

Waiting.  And I just can’t be patient.  I can’t stop worrying and I can’t stop wondering.

No, I can’t wait patiently today.  The serene, calm, unshakeable woman I think I should be is nowhere to be found.  But you know what I can do?  I can trust Him.

I trust Him because I know He has a GOOD PLAN for us.  “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11).

I trust Him because I know He will TAKE CARE OF US.  “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11).

I trust Him because I know He is a good Father who knows and LOVES HIS CHILDREN.  “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

And I trust that no matter what else happens, those three things will always be true.

How about you, friend? What do you find hard about waiting; specifically, about waiting for God?  Can you share a time when He answered a prayer after a long time of waiting?  Comment and answer below.  I’d love to start a discussion about waiting on God.

Trusting Him together,

Laura Jane

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” ~Psalm 34:4

 

*This post was first published in Spring 2016… as of now, the job issues have been resolved and we are happily settled, praise God!