The Joy of Waiting

I love surprises.

Well…good surprises.

Some people hate surprises no matter how wonderful they are. Not me. I absolutely love them.

A surprise gift.

An unexpected opportunity.

Good news you never saw coming.

There’s something exciting about knowing something wonderful could be just around the corner.

Lately, I’ve realized that’s exactly how I’ve started to view my future.

For a long time, I think I lived expecting the next hard thing.

The next disappointment.

The next challenge.

Life had handed me enough difficult seasons that I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But recently, something has shifted.

Instead of wondering what might go wrong next, I’ve started getting excited about what God might do next.

Not because life is perfect.

Not because every prayer has been answered.

But because when I look back over my life, so many of God’s greatest blessings were surprises.

I never could have planned them.

I never could have predicted them.

Yet there they were.

At exactly the right time.

As I’ve been reflecting on this, I’ve also been thinking about how different my life looks now than it did before I knew Jesus.

Before I knew Him, I wasn’t really waiting for anything.

At least I didn’t think I was.

I was living life day by day, building a career, raising a family, checking off goals, and doing all the things I thought I was supposed to do. But somewhere beneath the surface, there was a question I couldn’t quite shake:

Is this all there is?

I wasn’t necessarily unhappy. I just felt like something was missing.

That question eventually led me into a season of searching. Searching for truth. Searching for purpose. Searching for God.

And when I found Jesus—or rather, when I realized He had been pursuing me all along—everything changed.

Life suddenly had deeper meaning. There was purpose in my pain, joy in unexpected places, and a relationship with God that transformed the way I viewed everything around me.

I was on fire for Him.

But somewhere along the journey, I found myself waiting again.

Not necessarily waiting on a specific prayer to be answered.

Just…waiting.

Waiting for something big.

Waiting for something exciting.

Waiting for clarity.

Waiting for God to reveal the next step.

Waiting for the next chapter.

Waiting for something to happen.

And recently, God gently revealed something to me.

I’ve been so focused on what comes next that I’ve been missing what is right in front of me.

A blue jay perched on my fence.

A snail slowly making its way across the sidewalk.

A beautiful sunset.

The sound of laughter from my children.

A quiet evening at home.

The simple gifts that surround me every single day.

How much of life do we miss because we’re waiting for life to begin?

The anticipation of tomorrow should never rob us of the joy of today.

I don’t want to spend my life staring at the horizon while missing the beauty beneath my feet.

I want to notice the blue jay.

I want to appreciate the sunset.

I want to laugh a little longer.

I want to thank God for the miracles that already surround me.

And at the same time, I want to eagerly anticipate the surprises He still has in store.

Maybe that’s what healthy waiting looks like.

Not sitting still until life happens.

Not anxiously counting down to the next chapter.

But fully embracing today while trusting God with tomorrow.

Finding joy in what is.

And excitement for what could be.

So let me ask you:

Have you accidentally put your joy on hold?

Are you waiting for a relationship, a breakthrough, a healing, a new opportunity, or an answered prayer before allowing yourself to fully enjoy the life God has already given you?

This week, I want to challenge both of us to pay attention.

Notice the gifts.

Notice the beauty.

Notice God’s faithfulness in the ordinary moments.

And then allow yourself to get excited.

Not because you know what’s coming.

But because you know Who does.

The same God who has carried you this far is already in your tomorrow.

And if He has already done more than you could have imagined, who’s to say the best surprises aren’t still ahead?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11

— Naureen