Life on pause

Waiting to begin again

by Ann Kelley, Director of Communications and Website at Just Moved Ministry

Once the dust settles after a move or other major life change, it can feel like your runaway-train-of-a-life has suddenly come to a screeching halt in the middle of a wilderness. The hours tick by in your silence and isolation as you gaze out the window at a world that is foreign and unfamiliar. The quiet may be broken by a trip to the grocery store or to the DMV, but the sense of isolation persists – even in a crowd.

It’s only natural to feel that your life has been derailed. You long for a sense of purpose to your days and a sense of connection with your new surroundings and the people you see.

But this stage is good and necessary.

You’ve entered a time of waiting. I know. Nobody WANTS to wait. Every day we do what we can to AVOID waiting. The checkout line, the ticket line, slow traffic, the doctor’s office – don’t make me wait! But waiting for our lives to be full and “meaningful” again isn’t something we can control or rush.

It’s easy to wonder if God is doing anything as we wait for life to begin again.

In Acts, chapter 9, in the Bible, Saul (later called Paul) is on the road to Damascus, intent on imprisoning all followers of The Way (early followers of Jesus).

 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Acts 9:3-6

Saul picks himself up off the ground and realizes he’s blind! He must be lead into the city where Jesus told him to wait. Not only is he blind, but he doesn’t eat or drink for three days!

He’s been called by Jesus and then told to WAIT.

This place of blindness, dependence, and waiting has stripped Saul of all that gave him his identity, purpose, status, and meaning. He’s no longer the authoritative, respected, and powerful religious leader. He’s weak and helpless.

He’s emptied of all that has defined him. He waits.

We know what he could not know: out of his empty state of being and waiting will be birthed a life and ministry that will have an impact on the lives of individuals for two thousand years. His letters will make up much of the New Testament and his missionary journeys will help to spread and establish the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Are you in a period of waiting?

You may feel you’ve been stripped of your identity, value, and purpose. Be present to THIS moment – not ruminating on the past, not clamoring for the future. God will birth something new from this period of waiting.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

Those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles. They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

Isaiah 40:31