The Gift of Waiting

The Gift of Waiting

by Donna Mumma

 

“But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance”

(Romans 8:25, NKJV).

 

I still remember my mother’s Christmas candy tray. Its plastic poinsettia shape included vibrant, festooned impressions of the flower. The tray always welcomed me when I awoke on Christmas morning. Since we lived on a farm, the family had to wait for our father and brothers to complete the morning milking before opening presents.  My siblings and I also had to wait for my parents to open the living room door and allow us to rush in and tear open our gifts.  This entire process revved my impatient nature into overdrive.

But Mama had a sweet cure. After we had all gone to bed on the big day’s “eve,” she filled her tray with special holiday candy. Christmas exempted us from the normal rules about eating candy, so I always ate my fill. The sweet diversion gave me something to enjoy while I waited to unwrap presents.

Sometimes we need to find sweet diversions in our author’s life as we wait for God’s plan to unfold. Discouragement might tempt us when we observe our peers advance their careers. Others might sign with agents we’d hoped to work with or earn contracts with our dream publishing houses. As fellow writers build successful online platforms, we can grow impatient while struggling to get started.

So what can we do in this season of heartbreak, fading resolve, and waning passion for the craft?

We can enjoy God’s sweet foretastes as we WAIT.

• Welcome improvements to our writing by attending conferences, critique groups and workshops.
• Admit we always have new things to learn. Read books, listen to podcasts, or follow blogs that offer new ideas. As writers, we can study our craft endlessly.
• Investigate new opportunities. Write pieces to strengthen creative muscles, even if they might not lead to publication.
• Trust God’s timing. He has a plan. He wouldn’t have called us to this mission without a purpose. We can prepare for the day when he opens the doors and our writing dreams become God’s reality.

Waiting serves us a sweet gift. Let’s find ways in this stage of our calling to unwrap blessings as we persevere toward God’s unfolding plan.

Lord, help us to keep hoping as we wait for your will to unfold in our writing lives. May we all persevere as we eagerly await all you have planned for us. Amen.

 

 

 

Donna Mumma writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction seasoned with a sense of adventure. An avid believer in education, she holds a M.Ed. in Elementary Education. She serves as Tampa chapter president of Word Weavers International. A native Floridian, Donna lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband. She is the mom of two college boys and an energetic collie named Duke.