Waiting Well | June 2021 Love Note

We spent the last week of The Hope Series focused on “waiting well.” The idea of “waiting well” has been such an important concept in my own journey, that I am dedicating this note to describing just what that has looked like for me.

To help it stick, I have organized it into four A’s.

• Acknowledge - We can't wait well if we dont first acknowledge what we are facing. Whether it's trouble with fertility, finances, relationships, or past trauma we must first acknowledge the issue. ⁠

• Address - We are not always meant to wait in solitude. Find a person or small group that you can trust to encourage and hold you accountable in the wait. Once you've acknowledged it for yourself, then address the issue with them. Oftentimes, this means getting professional help with mapping out a course of action. Invest in a trusted medical, financial, spiritual - or whatever type of - advisor you need. ⁠

• Act - After we've acknowledged and addressed the issue, we take action. Waiting doesn't mean that we're inactive. To the contrary, waiting well includes doing the work. Processing and practicing, healing and taking care, saving and stretching. James 2:17 says, "faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Do the work.⁠

• Accept - Finally let us be careful not to try to control outcomes, but instead to manage only those things that are under our authority. Submit your requests to God, surround yourself with the support you need, do the work, and ultimately trust what your Creator has for you. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11⁠

I pray that this encourages you in the wait!

Love,

Maaden