Learning to Wait. An Update.

Every morning in my e-mail I receive a devotion from Dr. David Jeremiah.  This morning's topic was waiting and included this quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes.

That was a very timely thought for me to ponder.  (No surprise there, since God knows exactly what we need and exactly when we need it!)

If you've been reading this blog for very long at all, then you are aware that we are trying to sell our house.  If not, you can read about that here: http://susanssittingroom.blogspot.com/2014/03/todays-day.html  and here:  http://susanssittingroom.blogspot.com/2014/06/i-need-your-help_20.html

This has been a long process.  Certainly it seems like a much longer process than it actually has been.

Last spring we cleaned and cleaned and decluttered and did all the other things that are part of putting a house on the market.  This was the third time we had listed this house, but with the economy being what it has been over the past few years, we had no success in our previous listings.  However, we were confident that the third time would be the charm!  That the timing was right.  That this was what God was leading us to do.

We listed the house.  We kept it clean and tidy.  And we waited.

We're still waiting.  We have a prospective buyer who has expressed interest; who has asked all the right questions; who has come back for another look; who has been researching options.  So now we're waiting to hear if that buyer has made a decision, a decision which will hopefully be in our favor.

In the meantime, over the weekend we found what we believe is the perfect house for us.  But we can't act on that until we have a decision from this prospective buyer, or another buyer, about this house.

I said all that to say that waiting is frustrating.

Even so, waiting is a blessing.  And on this Thankful Tuesday, in spite of the frustration, I am thankful for this process.  Thankful for waiting.  Thankful for all I have learned and am continuing to learn through this time in the "waiting room".

Thankful that God has a plan and a purpose.

Thankful that He is in control. 

Thankful that because He is in control, I don't have to worry about any of the details.  That I don't have to sweat the small stuff.  Or the big stuff either.  Thankful that He has it all covered.

Thankful that I am learning to "rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him."     (Psalm 37:7)

Thankful for His love and His goodness and His mercies that are "new every morning."  (Lamentations 3:23)

Thankful that even when I am frustrated and impatient and stressed and anxious - and I am sometimes (often!) these things, and sometimes all at once - even then, I can remember that God is in control, and I am at peace. 

It's a process.  I'm a work in process.  I'm still learning.  And God has it all under control!

"For the vision awaits its appointed time......if it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay."  (Habakkuk 2:3 ESV)