What to Do When You’re Waiting

Liz Montigny shares how she’s letting go of worry while she’s in a waiting season.

For moms, most of our work is for “later.” It got me thinking about Jesus’ reply to Peter in the Gospel of John:

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” (John 13:7)

If we could only see what He sees in the moment, right? We’d have all the answers and none of the graces. Hindsight is always 20/20.

When we’re in the thick of a tough season in our marriage, a child’s struggle, or a challenge for a dear friend, we can feel depleted and wonder, “what’s this all for?” Naturally we seek to understand—it’s part of who we are, but Jesus doesn’t give us all the answers at that moment, though He’s always on time.

For most of us, our suffering is in silence, and unnoticed. We’re being asked to wait it out and we’ll know the fruit of our suffering later—perhaps we may not even find out until it is our time to leave this earth.

I’ve been navigating a tough season on all fronts, personally and professionally, for months. Through grace, I found myself not pleading to understand or to grab the next shiny object, but to wait. While I’m grateful I have accepted my season of waiting, it doesn’t mean that my crosses have disappeared or that it’s been easy. But, for those of you who may be wondering what He’s doing in your life, I want to share how I’ve been waiting.

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Acceptance

What I’ve learned in my own life, and hearing about my client’s experiences, is that when we don’t accept the season we’re given, we worry. Anxiety brews because we think we’re supposed to be doing something else. We think we’re supposed to fix something, when perhaps it’s not even our job, our place, or our time to do so. Surrender isn’t easy, but I’ve found that by surrendering my season of waiting to the Lord I’ve been relieved of the burden of worry.

How much time and energy do you spend worrying about the “thing"? What if you were able to let that all go and let God do His thing? The powerful Surrender Novena may help you.

Perseverance

Perseverance means to have persistent consistency no matter what is coming your way. How do you persevere in waiting? With praise, prayer, and trust. Keep praising the Lord for what you do have in the present. Be grateful. Keep up with your daily prayer life; prioritize your relationship with Him because it is your most important relationship. What if He’s making you wait so you can spend more time with Him? A relationship takes two and He wants to hear from you, even in the mess.

And, of course, trust. Remember, God is bigger than your hardest season. Pray, as in the Surrender Novena: “Jesus, You take care of it,” and He will—most likely differently from your plans, but He’s always on time.

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Click to tweet:
Worrying in the waiting or complaining in the active season are counter-productive. #CatholicMom

To the amazing woman reading this, I encourage you to own whatever season you find yourself in, whether it’s a waiting season or an active season. Worrying in the waiting or complaining in the active season are counter-productive. There is so much power in accepting your cross and so much relief and carrying it with the Lord. Instead of fighting against the season you’re in or finding some way to relieve it, take it up and walk through it. “O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!”

As I share this with you, I’m still in my season of waiting but I trust that I’ll “know later” why He had me wait. I accept that He knows what’s best for me and I am persevering so I can give glory to Him now and later. I will pray that you can do the same.

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