Waiting

I’m studying Genesis and Abraham this year. For me, one of the important lessons has been the example of waiting. Do you remember how many years Abraham and Sarah waited for Isaac? Twenty-five. Yes, twenty-five years passed before God’s promise of a descendant was fulfilled through Isaac.

That’s a lot of waiting, but Abraham was a man of faith who trusted the One who fulfills promises.

We’re waiting at our house. Our sons have applied to the United States Naval Academy and to the United States Military Academy. It’s been a year-long process of actually applying, but the boys have been working for years on becoming the kind of people the Academies accept through Boy Scouts, sports, academics, as well as church and community involvement.

This journey has been arduous and frustrating, but it has also been filled with dozens of kind people who’ve helped them. I’ve lost count of how many people wrote letters of recommendation. A coach met them at 7am on a summer Friday before his vacation to monitor their physical test. They needed physics, but not enough students at our small high school wanted to take it. Our school didn’t offer it, but a neighboring school did. Our principal, the other principal, the teacher, and the county superintendent had to sign off to allow Lane and Quinn and another student to leave school in the middle of the day, drive ten miles while eating lunch, and take the class on another campus. Several doctors have written letters and signed documents to dispel medical issues.

In the past, whenever anyone asked me about their future plans, I’d cock my head, dip my chin, and say, “Well, their hearts’ desire is to go to West Point or the Naval Academy.” Maybe I was trying to let them know that I know how competitive the application process is. Maybe I didn’t want to show excitement because if they didn’t get accepted, I didn’t want people feeling sorry for us. Who knows?
I‘ve decided, however, I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m happy that they have a lofty goal and that they’re being seriously considered.

If I believe the promise in Jeremiah 29:11 that God has plans for them, for a hope and a future, then I can rest in whatever path is waiting for them. Believing it is one thing, and that’s for my contentment. Showing I believe it is another, and that’s a witness to everybody else.

So—I’ve changed how I wait. From now on, I’m waiting in joyful expectation of whatever God has planned for Lane and Quinn because whatever He has planned is good. ANd that’s a promise.