I picked up Tracie for our weekly drive to a nearby town, where I’ve been leading a small group studying Pure Emotion. Tracie has been kind enough to make the drive with me each week and encourage me as we study with a wonderful group of women we’re getting to know through the journey. I had a couple quick errands to run, and then we’d be on our way.

When I pulled into the McDonalds drive-thru, I was suprised at how slowly the long line of cars was moving. The service is usually very quick. All I wanted was a sweet tea for the drive. (For those who don’t know me well, I’m drink driven.) Tracie and I were enjoying the time to visit, but as time passed, I wondered if we should continue to wait. I glanced at the clock. We had plenty of time, so we continued to wait.

Five minutes later, my sweet tea was in hand, and we continued across town. We’d been watching lightning and hearing thunder as we waited, but the skies darkened as we continued. Just before we reached the edge of town, the downpour hit us with a fury. A couple hail pings on my roof was all I needed to hear before pulling under a bank awning. We watched sheets of rain blow in scattered directions. The ditches began to quickly fill and overflow onto the streets. As the minutes ticked past, I knew I needed to make a decision of what to do next, since I was obviously going to be late.

After getting an update on the radar, we knew we weren’t going anywhere except home. The problem was…most of the streets we tried to turn down for the return trip were under water and impassable. We’d reach an intersection and look in the direction we’d prefer to go. If it didn’t look safe, we went an alternate route. Little by little, we made our way in the pouring rain to Tracie’s house. I ran into one more obstacle on my way home; then, the skies cleared and the remainder of the trip was uneventful.

It hadn’t rained as much in the town where the small group was held, but without a backup plan, we cancelled it. I called Julie as soon as we made the decision, and she called Betty. They split the list of contacts and called everyone as quickly as they could. (Thanks, ladies!) I sent an email as soon as I got home, giving instructions for the upcoming week and encouraging everyone to stay on track. We determined to stay the course.

One course I was glad not to have stayed on was the road out of town. I quickly realized had I not patiently waited in line at McDonalds, Tracie and I would have been in between towns in a rural area with no street lights as the skies darkened. We would have had few places to safely pull off the road, particularly avoiding the rising waters. And I can’t think of a single place we could have driven under a protective awning or other shelter from the hail.

I don’t always like it when God seems to push a pause button in my life. Okay, the truth is…I rarely like it. Yet I’m learning to rest in God’s timing.

Waiting doesn’t signify we’re denying what’s going on around us. It’s not sticking our heads in the sand to reality. It’s a holding pattern. When an airplane is put into a holding pattern, it doesn’t land and doesn’t reprogram it’s route to another location. The plan is to complete the trip it started, but it’s put on hold. In the meantime, the flight is up in the air longer and covers some areas it wouldn’t have covered if it had flown directly to the airport. (Pure Emotion)

How do you typically respond to a holding pattern in your day or life?

We struggle with patience because patience signifies dependence. We’re dependent on God. Yes, we have choices…and one of those choices – applied on a daily basis – is whether or not to acknowledge our dependence on God. Whether or not to accept our position as the created, acknowledging God as the Creator. Without settling the dependence issue, we’re not going to settle the patience
issue. Please don’t misconstrue what I’m saying. Being dependent doesn’t mean we’re lazy and uninvolved. Just the opposite. God seeks active relationship with us. He invests in relationship and demands that you be invested, too – if you want the relationship to thrive and grow. That’s why he gives you boundaries, choices, and consequences.

My recent experience reminded me how sweet God’s timing is.

Wait and trust the Lord. Don’t be upset when others get rich or when someone else’s plans succeed. Don’t get angry. Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble. Psalm 37:7-8