In western Michigan, we have been waiting for spring for a while.  It was a little over a week ago when we still woke to snow.  It’s been too cold to play outside with the grandkids, and too cold and wet to work on the boat.  And the tulip festival starts next week with hardly a tulip in bloom.  Waiting, waiting waiting.

We don’t like to wait, do we?  But we spend a lot of time waiting in line at the bank, waiting in line at Taco Bell, waiting for our doctor appointment, waiting for next week, or next year, or even just the next moment.

A week ago, I was driving my granddaughters to my house when Paisley burst out (no pun intended) “I have to go potty!”  From the mouth of a 3 year old – that means NOW.  I didn’t want to tell her that she’d have to WAIT 15 more minutes ‘til we got to my place so I distracted her and talked about other things.  The distraction worked, and we made it to my place, literally running up the stairs and straight to the potty.  Later the next day, the girls were busy playing while I was cleaning up lunch dishes when Harper came into the kitchen with an armful of books and sweetly asked, “Will you read these to me, Grandma?”  I told her she’d have to wait a minute while I finished where she replied, “Okay then I’m going over there to the couch and you can come over in a minute.”  I was there in seconds as I didn’t want her to WAIT any longer, knowing how special and important it is to read to little ones.  She listened to every last book and then went and got 6 more!  Then just yesterday, we went to watch grandson Henry play a baseball game when his younger sister Lena said, “Grandma I want you to come watch me at the playground.”  I replied that I had come to watch Henry play ball and it was almost his turn at bat.  Lena didn’t want to WAIT and told me, “I want you to come watch me now.”  FYI, I did make her wait but was able to see her on the climbing bars a little bit later.

One of my favorite stories in the bible is the Healing at the Pool.  In John chapter 5, Jesus is in Jerusalem near a pool that was known to have healing powers when the waters stirred – and you had to be the first one in the water when the water did this to benefit in a healing.  Many sick and lame people were always near the pool, waiting to be the lucky first one in.  There was one lame man who had been there for 38 years!  When he saw Jesus, he asked him to help him get into the pool.  Now I picture Jesus at this point with a smile on his face, trying to restrain himself from bursting out in laughter and joy as he knows he can heal the man.  Jesus tells the lame man, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”  Spoiler alert – that’s just what the lame man did!  Now there is more to the story, if you want to go read it yourself, but I can’t help thinking that Jesus would have loved to have shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

Through the years, I’ve done my share of waiting.  Sometimes things happened too fast, and sometimes it seemed like forever as I waited for something.  But one thing I know is true, that all things seem to have fallen into place in God’s perfect timing.  As I trusted in God and prayed for my husband, my children, for friends, for family, and for all the other facets of life, the timing was always perfect.  God orchestrated the pieces to put together a great outcome. 

Some things are worth the wait.  Some things you can’t wait for.  “I have to go potty!”  And with some things, God is waiting for YOU and he’s saying, “What are you waiting for?” 

Do you know that with only a few days of warmth and sunshine, the tulips are blooming?  Just in time for Tulip Festival!

just Laurel