Patience

It is the waiting that gets to you, am I right?

I am an action oriented person. I like to keep things moving and if I am active, then I am getting things done. I make a list, check things off the list, then make more lists. I am a do-er (is that a word???). For someone like me, waiting is way overrated. I am not one to just sit. Even while watching TV, I have gotten into the habit of multitasking on my iPad or laptop (I wish all this energy translated into weight loss, but that is another subject).

Now that I am in job search mode, it is painful to wait on the follow up. I am engaged, I am in my office every day working on my search. I network, research companies, prepare for my calls, everything you should be doing if you are actively searching for work. But inevitably, I reach a point where I have done everything that needs to be done and I am waiting on someone to get back to me. It isn't that I am impatient with them, they are busy and working other things. Still, I have to fight the urge to be a pest. It isn't easy for me, remember, I want to check things off my list and waiting on others keeps me from doing that.

God works like this too. It isn't that He is too busy or working on other things but He is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and no sooner than it needs to be done. Learning to be patient can be hard, at least for me. But I have learned that rushing things can have the opposite effect. In a job search, you can rush someone into thinking you are desperate and thus not mature enough for the role they are discussing with you. You can also rush into something that is the wrong fit. When you rush things, you can get the satisfaction of checking things off your to-do list at the expense of doing the right things. What that means is you didn't get God's best and have to back track to go where you are supposed to be not where you ended up.

Now, I am not saying that you need to just sit back and wait on things to happen. God expects us to do for ourselves. We have to walk through the doors He opens, we won't be magically transported there! Still, we get so focused on results that we don't stop long enough to take a deep breath and understand the plan.

I don't pretend to know why things are the way they are and I certainly cannot explain every part of God's plan for my life. However, I have lived long enough to know that He does have a plan for me and it is my responsibility to listen so I can come close to getting it right. Sure, I will make mistakes and take wrong turns. But in my job search, I know God is wants something for me and that I need to have the patience to listen to His direction and not just jump at the first thing that lands in front of me. If I make a wrong move, it isn't the end of the world, God can fix anything but why chase the wrong things when God is putting the right things in place for me? It just takes faith and patience.