Renewal By Waiting

Hi Ladies!  My name is Dawn and I’m so excited to be a part of Parakaleo.  Two weeks ago, my friend, Patrice, told me about an opportunity to write a monthly devotional to share with other moms.  I’m very thankful the Lord has opened this door and I look forward to getting to know you all better.  For the past week and a half, I’ve enjoyed reading the posts that have been coming to my inbox.  

Before I go any further, I’d like to take a minute or two to tell you a little bit about myself.  I’m a mom to three amazing kids; Hailey, 16, Chase, 12 and Jillian, 11.  In a few months, my husband, Brian, and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage.  Six years ago, we relocated from Ft. Lauderdale to the mountains of North Carolina to plant a church.  I’m a native Virginian, so North Carolina was a little like going home for me, although, I’ve never lived a such a small, rural area before.  I would describe my life as organized chaos, between homeschooling, spending time with my family, working, and helping my husband in the church.  I’m very thankful for this opportunity to share my heart with you and I pray, that through this blog, the Lord will continue to be glorified and we’ll continue to be edified.

I don’t know about you, but I have a very difficult time waiting.  Whether it’s waiting on my chocolate chip cookies to finish baking (Mmm. I can smell them now), waiting for the Lord to reveal fruit in my ministry, and I’m embarrassed to admit, waiting for the cashier in Walmart; waiting is not my strong suit.  And we all know, as moms, we spend A LOT of time waiting, especially on our kids.  When they’re little, we wait for them to sleep through the night, to learn how to talk, and to learn how to walk.  When they’re older, we wait for them to come home at night, to get their driver’s license, and to receive acceptance letters from colleges.  Waiting plays a big part in our lives.  And sometimes, all that waiting can leave us feeling drained.  Sigh.  

But check out what Isaiah 40:31 says:

“But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”  (NKJV)

Now, that’s certainly good news to me!  With all of the waiting I do in life, the most effective time I spend waiting is when I wait on the Lord.  When I choose to begin my day reading my Bible or a devotional or maybe praying in the shower, it makes all the difference in the world.  Inviting Christ to be the head of my life, each day, helps me put all of the other waiting in proper perspective.  Not to mention, waiting on the Lord, has a wonderful promise attached; our strength will be renewed and we won’t suffer from complete exhaustion and burnout.  I find, the majority of times I’m worn out from “mommying,” is when I’m trying to do it in my own strength; relying on me to get it all done.  And while that’s a bad pattern we all fall into from time to time, I want to encourage you to purpose in your heart to spend time waiting on the Lord every day.  I know this may not seem doable, especially if your children are very young, but I can assure you, that if you carve out that time, be it, five minutes or fifty five minutes, not only will you benefit, but so will they.  When my kids were in the baby and toddler stages, I spent countless hours in the car, either worshiping to praise CDs or listening to Bible teaching on the radio.  At that time in my life, my spirit was refreshed every time I turned my car into my prayer closet.  

Spending time in the presence of God transforms our hearts to be more like His and our homes to be a refuge for our families.  Raising godly children is a mountain sized task  which requires strength that only comes from the Lord.  And by His design, the only way we can tap into that strength is when we wait on Him.       

By the way, the cookies were worth the wait.  Although, they can’t begin to compare with the strength we get from waiting on the Lord!

1.  What hinders you from spending time with God each day?

2.  How do you define “waiting on the Lord”?

3.  Think of some creative ways you and your children can wait on the Lord together.