The Wait

Aren't we always waiting? 

Waiting for the weather to get warmer or cooler, waiting for school to start again or for summer break, waiting in line at the store, waiting for our cars to be serviced, waiting for test results, waiting for the doctor and waiting and waiting... 

 waiting for that certain someone to "pop the question," waiting for the right time to start a family, waiting for a baby to be born or a child to come home. 

Always waiting. 

Some waits are hard. Some are a bit easier or exciting with the promise of something "worth waiting for" in the end. 

We are now waiting and while this wait is not necessarily easy it is exciting. 

 We are waiting on His perfect plan for our family and we just cannot "wait" to see what that plan is. It may not be what we hope it will be. It may not be what we want it to be but it will be what the Lord wants it to be and that is exciting. 

While we wait, we are being molded and refined and oh my goodness, do I need refining and I guess I always will and I know that in these times of struggle, I will experience my greatest growth so what's not to be excited about? 

We are also learning to wait with joy and with (gulp) patience. 

 That's a toughie for me. 

The joy part, well that has, amazingly, been a bit easier. 

The Lord knew what I needed in this wait and He provided. 

My wonderful Mom asked us again this year to spend a week at our beautiful, small, laid back family beach and because it was, well, free, how could we say no? 

We had a great time on the beach and just hanging out together playing Sorry and Scrabble but the best part was... 

The Boat 

You see, my Dad had a boat. 

 My Dad always had a boat. 

He loved the water. 

He loved to fish. 

 

 He loved his boat and he loved sharing that love with his family. 

 When my Dad passed away, my hubby, who was in the Merchant Marines – yeah – boats - hehe, took this boat

 

was able to get it up and running and once again get and give much joy from it. 

However, in the past few years, we have been unable to afford to do anything with the boat and so it sat in Mom's yard, gathering leaves and pine straw and apparently trees!! 

When Mom asked us to go to the beach this summer, there was never a doubt in hubby's mind that Dad's old boat had to go too, so... 

 We picked it up, brushed it off – it had a little pine tree growing in the center of it y'all – and with the help of the kiddos and even some neighborhood friends, made it shine once again! 

 The kids had such a great time tubing and knee boarding - thanks Bub!

and skiing!

not too bad for an old lady:)

and we even got to say a final Good Bye to our 5 old faithful doggie friends. 

 

If you have been reading my blog, you know that there were 5 dogs that the Lord used to bring Hubby and myself together. 

They were the original gang of 5 and hold a special place in our hearts. 

We have had their ashes for a very long time and have wanted to take them back to one of their favorite spots of all time... 

Pine Island 

 

It's nothing but a sandbar, but for us, it is a connection, it is a refuge, it is a place to relax and to exhale. 

We used to bring these wonderful dogs here cause they loved it and we loved it and thanks to Dad's old boat, we could bring them back and... 

 

let them go. 

The girls wanted to go with us and of course we took the pups we have now. 

They had never been to Pine Island and it was about time and very appropriate. 

They loved it too and even though it was hard to say that final good bye, it was full of JOY too! 

 My dear sweet Lizzie had a tougher time than any of us but that is another blog post all by itself. 

 

Precious, baby girl. 

 It was a week full of fun and of JOY and even though I was sick for part of it, the Lord provided just what we needed, just when we needed it. 

So we wait and we try our best to wait with joy and wait with (gulp) patience cause I would much rather wait for His perfect plan than to try and take control and completely mess things up! 

I pray that we will learn what we need to learn, we will be “putty in His hands” and we will hang on to this when we are not in a time of trial.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:1-4

I see joy all around me.

It's not hard.

What can be hard is learning to let go and just trust, not worrying about tomorrow but praising Him for the blessings of today and that shouldn't be hard cause...

oh my goodness am I blessed

 

and we know that we will continue to be blessed

 

in His time...