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By Betsy Ore Glass

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. – Psalm 27:14 NIV

We are all waiting for something and that includes even the sea gulls that sit on pilings waiting for their next meal! Waiting has different degrees of intensity such as something as simple as waiting for a phone call or letter to arrive, to receive that long-needed check. Or, as critical as waiting for the healing to take place that we have prayed for. This time we are in now really teaches us patience. We are all hoping to get back to a semblance of “normal” in the very near future in the midst of the pandemic.

I must admit that I am not good at waiting. Is anybody? Like most people, I would prefer to have what I want when I want it! It’s the culture we find ourselves living in today that promotes immediate gratification. We’ve all seen children that couldn’t wait to grow up and teenagers that couldn’t wait to leave home for college. Families that can’t wait for their vacation week to begin and families that can’t wait to get back home again. Our impatience even makes it difficult for us to wait in the checkout lines at the grocery store sometimes!

But in our impatience to hurry our life along, we are missing out on God’s instruction. He can use waiting as a way to renew us, to refresh us and teach us. There is a reason that He makes us wait. If we sped through our life without time for pause and reflection, we would not grow and learn as we go. God thought of everything. There are lessons to learn along the way. He is our teacher and we are His students and He needs time to work with us. We can’t hurry God’s process. The hardest thing is to wait on God. When we pray, we want our answer now and He doesn’t always give it to us. The answer always comes, but it is when He is ready, not because we want it. If we begin to realize that we are complete in the Lord and He will take care of everything, it makes the waiting much easier. He is always in control. Our impatience and rushing around doesn’t line up with the scripture which tells us to be strong take heart and wait for Him. These times of isolation can be embraced if we try to make the best of the time we are given and ask for God’s leading and wisdom. Praying for peace and patience during any wait we find ourselves in will serve us and God better.

Betsy Ore Glass has long-standing ties to the Outer Banks. From Virginia Beach, her family bought a vacation cottage in the 60s and her love of the area began. Later in the 90s, Betsy and her husband bought a weekend cottage and introduced the area to their children. Then Betsy’s parents retired to KDH where the family gathered often. Reach her at betsyglass1@gmail.com or read additional Reflections at www.betsyoreglass.com.

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