Wisdom DateSample

Wait for the Lord

Bill slept like one unconscious all night. After breakfast the next morning, I packed the car and helped him into the backseat where he promptly went back to sleep. We headed towards the Shenandoah Valley with the girls on the front seat beside me, excited to be going to see their friends. It was a dreary morning in pouring rain. I marvel as I write this that it never occurred to me not to go. This was my life, and I had learned to cope with the daily frustrations of it.  

Bill woke at some point, and we stopped for lunch. After eating he was alert and back to the person I knew and loved. We talked very little about yesterday’s events as the girls were with us, but I told him about his job—he didn't know he had been fired and thought he had worked all day. As we continued the journey the sun peeked out and my spirit brightened. We were soon at the home of our friends.

This visit was a gift from God. The family had a lovely home on the Shenandoah River with inviting lawn chairs on the bank. The river was shallow enough for the children to splash all afternoon. Bill was in his element, wading with the girls and enjoying the magnificent view of the mountains as we visited with our friends.

Saturday evening, I finally had a chance to open Beyond Ourselves. It seemed that the author had answered every question I had ever heard Bill ask about God in the opening paragraphs of chapter one. Closing the book, I joined him on the front porch. “Just read the first chapter,” I encouraged. 

Bill stayed up most of the night pouring over the pages and had finished the book by the time we left Sunday afternoon. Some things the author had written had really impacted him, and he read those passages to me as we traveled home. I listened in wonder, sharing his interest, glimpsing a life of fellowship with each other and the Lord we hadn’t known existed. The children were asleep in the backseat so we were able to talk about our situation: Neither of us was employed. I was between private duty nursing positions. I could easily find a nursing position, but was that the right thing to do? Bill was still an alcoholic. We were at a major crossroads. Which way should we go?

As we talked, an idea occurred to me. “Bill, what if we take two weeks without looking for jobs. Let's pray and ask God to show us His will.” Bill was skeptical—he had no conviction that God could or would do anything about our situation or his alcoholism, but he agreed to this plan. We decided to pray alone and together and wait in faith for God to show us our next step.

Many Christians forget the importance of waiting on the Lord. Waiting in submission gives us time to prepare our hearts for God’s answer. It teaches us to honor His lovely will. Today’s Scriptures are about hoping in and waiting fully for God. Rest in Him, dear child.