Waiting is hard, especially those prolonged waitings. If you are in that place right now, I hope you feel encouraged and less alone by the end of the article.

Our family is waiting to hear back about something. That something will change our location and lifestyle and dominate our plan-makings for the future.

But it hasn’t come yet.

That email we are waiting for can come any minute of any day now. We know for better or for worse, it will come. It reminds me of the last days of my pregnancy, days after the due date, feeling the weight of my belly getting heavier and heavier, desperately wanting the baby to come out the next minute.

In the recent days of waiting, my patience has been tested. Everything inside of me is crying out for certainty and clarity, but we can’t even know what this summer will look like yet. I feel trapped in this space of waiting, forced to take one day at a time.

Or maybe, even time in this confined waiting space is a gift.

I read a verse in my Bible yesterday that brought me sweet comfort: “Give your burden to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” (Psalm 56:22 NLT) In response, I gave my anxious feelings to the Lord.

The burden is not mine to carry.

We don’t know what the rest of the year will look like or if we will move to the Middle East before Christmas, but that’s fine.

We trust the One who knows all the details of our life. He will take care of us and is always on time.

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The burden is not yours to carry, either.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs13:12 ESV )

You may feel the prolonged waiting is sucking away all the hope in you. But my friend, know that your desires are as clear as day to God. He is the One who created them in you in the first place and responsible for fulfilling each one of them.

Let it be one day at a time. Even though you don’t know if what you’re waiting for will come tomorrow or not, before your life is drastically changed, you still have today.

So, be present and engaged in the hours passing your “waiting room”.

Love the people in front of you and do something you love.

Keep up the practice that will bring growth to your life and progress to your work.

Cherish the day you have before any knowing change comes up. And choose to be thankful.

My friend (and my heart), fret not. Take deep breaths and hold on tight to hope in our sunlit waiting room. Cherish and give the gift of time in waiting.

And, you want to hear one more piece of truth? We all are in one of these two places in life: in transition or waiting for the next transition. We’ve got this.