Today's Scripture: Isaiah 40:28-31 (read)
My mother told me that no one ever died while WAITING for traffic to clear at a stop sign. She said that one would not starve while WAITING for the soup to get hot. And she always continued the conversation by adding, "God's timing is perfect." She was a very wise woman.
There have been many times in my life that left me tired and weary and praying that God would speed things up – WAITING for the birth of a child, the buying and selling of a home, a new teaching schedule for the school year, and of course, that perfect husband.
During a family camping trip, I sat down to enjoy the campfire. The chair I chose had a broken bolt and collapsed, causing severe pain in my back. I quickly discovered I could not walk. I was numb from the waist down to the tip of my toes on the left side. The trip to the hospital was long, seeming to take an eternity. WAITING for the doctor, tests and the diagnoses seemed to take forever. But a host of family and friends cared for me and best of all, they all prayed.
The doctor said surgery was necessary. He also told us I might never walk again. Everyone continued to pray, including me! The doctor did not seem to understand my attitude when he asked how I felt about that possibility. "I will wait and see what God has for me," I responded. I believed what I had been taught – God's timetable is perfect.
Surgery was long. Recovery seemed longer. I went home with a brace under my foot and behind my leg to assist with walking, and the doctor's statement: "If you walk again it will be hard work." It was. After what seemed to be a long, long time, I began to learn how to lift my leg and walk. I felt as though I had the strength to "mount up with wings like eagles and fly."
Today I do not run. I do grow physically weary, but I know that because I WAITED on God and his timing, I walk today.
My mother was a godly woman who was right. God's timing is perfect, even though sometimes it requires some WAITING. God is faithful.
Sue Bradshaw is a Windermere Baptist Conference Center volunteer.
This 2011 Advent devotion originally appeared in the November 17 issue of Word&Way.
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