I have already pitched my tent and unrolled my sleeping bag and settled in to a new land… The Waiting Place.
In the spirit of graduation month, let’s read some of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, shall we?
“You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, for a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig of curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.”
Dear friends, I’m sitting in The Waiting Place.
Waiting for training camp.
Waiting for launch.
Waiting for the next donation.
Waiting to be fully funded.
Waiting for a new blog post idea.
Waiting for my pack to come in.
Waiting for the next V Squad skype date.
Waiting for the chance to see old friends.
Waiting for the day where I’ll make new friends.
Waiting. Waiting. … Waiting.
Dr. Seuss calls this land “a most useless place.” Without discounting his deep knowledge (and knack for rhyming), I must respectfully disagree.
Now, The Waiting Place isn’t exactly a fun place to be.
Some days, I feel like I’m waiting for a shot– the challenges of the race loom ahead like towering mountains and I begin shaking in my Chacos. Other days, I feel like I’m waiting for the most exciting trip of my life– and this summer’s daily routine seems stifling and boring in comparison.
Sometimes, The Waiting Place is scary. Sometimes, it is dreadfully dull.
But it is never “useless.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
There is a time for embarking on an eleven-month mission trip around the world.
And there is a time to wait. And worship. And prepare. And read. And pray. And learn.
This summer isn’t particularly glamorous. The Waiting Place doesn’t necessarily lend itself to exotic Instagram photos and heart-stirring blog topics.
But God is showing me that this summer has an important purpose for my life.
In this summer, I am…
…working on a children’s book so that families with young children can follow my squad and teach their little ones about missions and foreign countries. Sitting on my computer for hours on end isn’t as exciting as praying for the sick and seeing them healed, but God is going to use this work for His purposes while I’m gone.
…reconnecting with old friends who I never imagined would be back in Camden with me this summer. I know God has specific plans for these relationships. These friends are all over the map spiritually, and I am thrilled to walk beside them again for a season to see what God has planned for their summers.
…reading Christian non-fiction, training my heart and mind for the year to come. After four years of assigned reading at school, I now have the free time to feed my mind with Beth Moore, John Piper, Max Lucado, Seth Barnes and other authors who are challenging the way I think about the Lord and my walk with Him and helping lay a spiritual foundation for the lessons yet to come.
…learning more about who God is. He is encouraging me to seek Him, not for what He can give or do, but with the singular goal of knowing Him. So far, He has taught me that He is Constant, Sovereign, and Faithful. He is inviting me to explore some of His character, and it is radically changing how I perceive Him and myself. Coming into closer relationship with Him is changing my understanding of my past, present, and future as well as His role in those different areas.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
God has prepared the works that lie ahead for me on the race, but He has also prepared good works for me to do this summer. In my waiting, I am still serving Him. I am growing and preparing and learning.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
In this time of waiting, the Lord is renewing my strength so that when it comes time to race, I can run without growing weary and walk without fainting.
As I wait, it can be tempting to look back– to reminisce continually on my life at Furman, and the good times I had there. It can also be tempting to look ahead– at the adventure to come and the ministry God is giving me. Many times, it is most tempting of all to look around– at the people whose lives seem much more exciting than mine as they start training camp or get married or start their first job or move to a new city for graduate school.
However, when I stop looking back or ahead or around and turn my eyes upon Jesus, I remember… God crafted this summer for me. He has called me to wait. He has a purpose in my waiting. He is allowing me to know Him more fully in my waiting. He is preparing my heart in my waiting. He is strengthening my faith in my waiting.
God is here, in my waiting. And as long as He is here, there is no place I’d rather be.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
Psalm 118:24
———————–
I still have to raise $2,400 to cover the cost for this trip, so if God lays it on your heart to help send me out by supporting me financially, click "Support Me" on the left to make a tax-deductible donation online. Or, cut out the 3% online processing fee by writing a check to "Adventures in Missions" with "WARDKALEIGH" in the info line and mailing it to:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
————————
If you feel led to help cover the cost of my personal expenses (supplies/gear, flight to launch city, immunizations), you can contact me personally for more information. I am paying for as much as I can out of my savings account, but I appreciate any donations for these costs as well!
————————
If you would like to receive my blog updates in your email, click "Update Alerts" on the left hand side to enter your email address. You can also join this facebook group or follow me on twitter (@kaleigh11n11) to get updates between posts!
