Dr. Seuss, Soul Doctor

 I have always loved Dr. Seuss. And now that my husband and I are expecting our first child, it is exciting to revisit all the old childhood stories we used to love. There is a new book that wasn't around when I was a kid, but is absolutely fantastic called "Oh the Places You'll Go." I think someone even read it at my high school graduation. For those of you who haven't read it, find one on Amazon or read this quick summary.
The plot follows a boy who is off to conquer the world and can do anything he sets his mind to. In a beautiful glimmer of truth, the boy faces disappointments that leave him lost and lonely. Dr. Seuss then goes on to speak of how life often ends up at one time or another in the Waiting Place.
 The Waiting Place is a place we have all been. And it is certainly a place we often hope to avoid. Dr. Seuss describes it like this:

...headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting. / Waiting for a train to go / or a bus to come, or a plane to go / or the mail to come, or the rain to go / or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow / or waiting around for a Yes or a No / or waiting for their hair to grow. / Everyone is just waiting. / Waiting for the fish to bite / or waiting for wind to fly a kite / or waiting around for Friday night / or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake / or a pot to boil, or a Better Break / or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants / or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. / Everyone is just waiting.

 Sound familiar? Maybe you're waiting for an answer on a job. Perhaps you're waiting to hear medical news. Or maybe you're waiting for depression to lift or pain to end. I'd like to say as a Christian that my time in the waiting place has been far shorter and much easier than it has been for non-Christians. Yes and no. Yes, because I know God will never leave me, no because rather than making my own decisions or waiting only for a human answer, I have had to learn to also wait on God. And let me be honest, sometimes it seems I wait the longest on Him.
 Why does this happen? Certainly God has better timing than us, but what if it is more than that?  What if God ushers us into the Waiting Place to develop our patience and our pray-tience? All I know is that during times of waiting in my life, I have spent more time on my knees and in His word trying to figure out where He is leading me or what he wants me to learn in my time of waiting. Waiting has never been fun for me. But I know without a doubt that I would not have learned as many lessons as I have or drawn as close to God had my life unfolded in my perfect timing and at my pace. Think of it like school. Most people hated school growing up (I was the nerd who loved it, so other nerds, discard this analogy). They hate it because they have to learn and be tested. Tests are often hard and learning something new forces us to think and look at situations in different ways. God does the same thing with our waiting.
 Sadly, I don't have an answer for how long you'll wait or what the result of your waiting will be. But I do know that you are not alone among humans. We have all spent time in the Waiting Place. And you are certainly not left alone by your Creator. Submit to Him; allow him to shape and mold you in this time of waiting. Take a look at King David. He was anointed King over Israel by Samuel when he was a young boy (1 Sam 16:3), probably an adolescent, and didn't actually take his place as King until he was 30 years old (2 Sam 5:4). Yet it was through the 15 or 20 odd years of waiting and hiding in deserts while on the run for his life that David learned the lessons he would need to use as King. One of his greatest lessons learned was to trust in God. 
 The same is true of the Israelites. Led from slavery to a desert for 40 years. But God used this time to teach them what it truly meant to be His people. Until their time in the desert, they had spent their lives surrounded by idol worship. God needed to teach them that He alone was God the provider and conqueror, and their mighty right hand.
 We all need to be molded and taught. The Waiting Place is neither fun nor easy, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Your time for a Promised Land or kingship will come. But do not waste the waiting period. Allow God to train you and build you up. Only He knows what lessons you will need to have mastered when you leave the Waiting Place. And once you have learned the particular lesson He wants to teach you, "you'll escape / all that waiting and staying. / You'll find the bright places / where Boom Bands are playing."

Enjoy your Boom Bands and never forget to try with all your heart to learn while waiting.