The Waiting Game

"In Memory of Taps"

     Small watercolor study   

                                                                                                                                  Sometimes life has parts that demand a long-term patience.  Think of all those years studying for one or two degrees, taking chemotherapy, being in childbirth labor for hours and hours, building a house or serving a term of military duty away from family.  The waiting can seem like forever, like walking across a desert with no end in sight and no shade.  Perhaps you have some goals that you are working towards, but getting closer to reaching them seems like a mirage that keeps vanishing as you work on them.  

How does one keep climbing when the temptation to stop attempts to overpower a person?

As one who has run hundreds of miles in training for marathons and also enjoyed climbing some very tall mountains, I readily understand how fatigue and discouragement can sabotage your best efforts.  Quitting can seem so tempting!  It isn't easy to keep on going towards goals when nothing seems to be happening, when forward motion is so slow that it's almost imperceptible. 

Let me share a few encouraging thoughts with you on perseverance when it's tough going. 

Unfortunately the author is unknown but I want to share with you a powerful little nudge of a poem to keep on keeping on:  You Mustn't Quit

Stamina, endurance and pushing through to final accomplishment are not easy traits to obtain.  They are only developed by using them when the going is difficult.  I like what King Alfred the Great (849 -901 A.D.) said:  

"If thou hast a woe, tell it not to the weakling,

tell it to thy saddlebow and ride forth singing."

Another poem I like to reflect on is by Joseph Morris titled "One Step At A Time".  Here's the second stanza:

When a man would climb a mountain he's appalled to see the length

Of the slope that reaches up into the sky;

But he starts, and with the climbing he will find he's gained the strength

To attain the very top, however high.

For the climbing of a mountain takes but one step at a time---

Who has courage to do that will reach the goal;

He will stand upon Life's summit and will know that joy sublime

Which is his alone who dares to prove his soul.

(Montana country)

One more important ingredient in enduring patiently over the long haul is this encouraging word from King David in Psalm 27:  "Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."  God is sovereign over the events in our lives and He is never slow or late.  His timing is perfect.  We can trust that His way is best.  He gives us strength beyond our abilities to stay in the chase and not give up.  That's how to do The Waiting Game!

Live bravely and beautifully!