God is teaching me the difference between worldly waiting and faith-filled waiting.
I was recently diagnosed with a pulmonary condition that could eventually be life-threatening. After the initial diagnosis, I had to wait a month to see a specialist and get my many questions answered. Then there were numerous tests scheduled to determine the cause, severity, and subsequently, the treatment. Between each test, there was a waiting period before I received the results. I have to admit that those waiting periods were harder to go through than the medical tests! All in all, it took four months from diagnosis to beginning treatment.
They lived in hope for all of us.
During this time, I had several projects to complete, and one project in particular turned out to be quite a blessing. I had agreed to develop an Advent prayer service for my parish RCIA group. As I prayed for inspiration, images of the very first Christmas and the faith-filled people of that time kept resonating with me. I was inspired by their trust in God’s promise of a Savior. They and their ancestors had lived in hope. Theirs was a faith-filled waiting. Their faith assured them that God’s promise was heartfelt and certain. Even when they doubted, God sent them people whose trust in God could bear fruit: the prophets, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph. They trusted. They waited. They followed God’s will. They lived in hope for all of us. And their waiting bore fruit for all of us.
This insight of faith-filled waiting changed my perspective on my situation. I could see how those four months of waiting were holy time given to me to accept my illness, educate myself about it, and share my anxiety and hope with others in my life. Most importantly, it gave me time to pray for a deeper faith and trust in God’s will. God was teaching me, through the example of my spiritual ancestors, how to wait, not in my way, but in a faith-filled way. And just as the faith-filled waiting of the people of that first Christmas bore fruit, my lesson in faithful waiting also bore fruit. Waiting and hoping in faith has brought me to a deeper trust in God and God’s will for me. It has freed me to accept this journey and to pray that it will bear fruit.
Waiting in a worldly way can bring anxiety and fear. Faith-filled waiting bears the fruits of patience and peace. May our waiting bring us closer to God. And may we continue to be blessed with faith-filled waiting throughout the new year.
Dear Melinda,
I am reading this in June, 2021, so I don’t know the direction your condition has taken, but i pray that all is well with you. Thank you for sharing this beautiful teaching on faith-filled waiting. And thank you for your strength in facing and surrendering to the Will of God in your life.
This had great meaning for me! I have never heard of faith-filled waiting before. I needed to hear this earlier this year, and again today. Thank you for your clarity. May God bless you and your family now and always, and bring each one to everlasting salvation.
Dear Melinda,
Thank you for your inspirational article on waiting. I have been doing a lot of waiting this past year after loosing a son. Waiting to sell his house, waiting to end his succession, all the legal antics surrounding a death. Now I am waiting to move to live with my older son away from Baton Rouge. I have no time or desire for anxidety and learning to wait in a faith filled way is a challenge but one I am up for.
Melinda, I’m so sorry for the pain behind this process of waiting. I hope the plan for the treatment is one that eases your symptoms and you heart. I will keep you and all who care for you in my prayers.
Thanks for this wonderful reflection. I have been waiting for a package to arrive since December 4. Going from Michigan to Nebraska. This was so needed to teach me to have a faith-filled waiting. Those words, faith-filled waiting, are going in my journal. God bless And hope your health is good.
“God is teaching me the difference between worldly waiting and faith-filled waiting.”
Oh, Melinda, how I need to learn this. This post was so relevant to me today.
“Waiting in a worldly way can bring anxiety and fear. Faith-filled waiting bears the fruits of patience and peace. May our waiting bring us closer to God.”
All I can say is “AMEN” to this post and may I be blessed with the grace to be patient.
Peace to all who visit here.
“Waiting in a worldly way can bring anxiety and fear. Faith-filled waiting bears the fruits of patience and peace.”
Amen. These lessons are so easy to grasp intellectually, and so hard to realize in our lives! Thanks for your well developed reflection. I need to come to these things over and over again.
I just got my soul lifted with this beautiful message…. I’ve been tired of waiting and it’s Christmas evening here but I’m locked up here sulking. I was about giving up, but I think I will wait by faith.
Someday! I hope it’s soon
Thanks Melinda. Waiting is often a challenge. Fruit of prayer never arrives through speed post or courier service. But all the same it arrives.
Dear Melinda, I thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for using a gift like you to teach His life lessons. In His time, not ours, is one of the most challenging aspects of our lives as children of God. Thank you for your poignant reminder!
Prayers for you and everyone journeying with you this advent. God’s healing and peace be upon you. Thank you for your words of wisdom and sharing your story!
Faith-filled waiting, what a lovely image. I am inspired by the connection between our Israelite ancestors and us today. Prayers for you & your family.
I really liked this reflective thought; it rings true. Thank you. For me, faith-filled waiting is part of living without seeking to anxiously control life’s events; doing one’s best in everything but leaving the results to God. ‘For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor 12: 9-10).
Your writing brought unexpected calm & peace. As I watch my 90 year father wither away in hospice at home, I am filled with so much grief & anxiety most of my day. I race around doing everything as fast as I can, as if this would make time go faster & end this pain. My father’s suffering is so difficult. I ask God for mercy, just to give me strength. I thank God for reaching me through you. I hope & pray for you too. God Bless You!
Lenys, know that you are not alone in this time, that God is with you now. Lean on God and receive the grace offered to you and your father during this time. May you be filled with the peace of God!
Thank you, Melinda, for this invitation to faith-filled waiting, to trusting in hope during Advent… this is so counter what the world teaches us. Thanks for sharing your story.