Monday, July 23, 2012

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...

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful post, Annie. You will be the voice of wisdom for waiting when this is all over. :) Love you!

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  2. Oh, Annie! Waiting is so, so hard, and God must have quite a plan for you and your family. What a beautiful post. We are keeping you all in our prayers, your family here in the U.S. and your daughter waiting for you in China.

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  3. How touching Annie! You always amaze me. Faith is so hard for some and yet so easy for others. You and your family will be fine. I know how strong you and Chris are and I know you have and are instilling that into your children lives. What an amazing story and wonderful family. Love to all.

    Bish

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    1. Oh dear sweet Bish! Thank you so much. That means so much to me!

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  4. So beautiful! Praying for all of you!!
    Many many blessings,
    Traci

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  5. Now thats what I call looking straight ahead..........
    Blessings
    Tammy

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  6. God has beautiful things in store for your sweet family! Of that I'm sure! Your faith is so wonderful to watch! Beautiful pics and a beautiful post too!

    Hugs,
    Tammy

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  7. Annie,
    That was beautiful. I love your heart and your attitude. I can SO relate to where you're at, don't ya know? Remember our phone conversation just a short year ago? Can you believe all God has done? He will do it for you too Annie because He loves you so very much. Revel in this time that you wait. As I'm typing this, the song "My Hope is in You" by Aaron Shust is playing. Such a timely song. I could sing it all day. "The peace that passes understanding is my song... My hope is in You ALONE." I think that may be a good name for Miss XM: HOPE. :)It's so very hard to wait, especially when your heart is already attached to a child. Do you have a peace that she is yours Annie? You know, I ALWAYS knew Ashlyn was ours. Always. I wondered how in the world it would ever work out, but I never doubted the peace in my heart. It is not in God's character to dangle the bait and then steal it away from us, but the enemy would have us think it. I can not wait to see all the miracles that are going to take place in this story of yours. It's a thrilling journey. Love to you my friend.
    XO,
    Rebecca

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    1. Oh dear Rebecca!!!!! I SO remember! Your story is such an inspiration! We do have such a peace about our dear XM being our daughter. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  8. Hi Annie, it's been quite a while since I looked at any posts on Blogger in general and I'm sooo glad I took the time today to jump on and see yours. This post is just about one of the best I have ever read--so inspirational! Keep on keepin' the faith! Laura

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  9. Remembering to faithfully pray for you and your family Annie.
    Cherie

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