I look forward to Thursdays when I can publish thoughts on my spiritual journey and hear the thoughts of others on a weekly basis. It has become a space for an encouraging and fortifying community to come together. We welcome anyone who would like to join us!
We have been writing about each other's One Little Words. Please join us! If you have a One Little Word this year and would like to explore the spiritual aspect of it, let me know, and I will add you to the schedule! Today's OLW is my word, WAIT.
I think a few of you wrote about my word at the beginning of the OLW explorations, so if you'd like to just link up those posts, that's fine! I know it was a little confusing when I set it up.
It's also Day 10 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge, and I'm writing a goodbye letter to our house in a series of memories since we will be moving in April.
Interestingly enough, I wrote a Spiritual Journey Thursday post on WAIT a year ago, six months before I chose it as a OLW. It was right before Libby's wedding, after we had bought the condo to renovate, and before we put the house up for sale. A lot of things were going on, and I needed that deep breath of waiting and being present.
I wrote about why I chose WAIT in this post. One of the ways WAIT has come into play was the house sale. We had put the house up for sale last summer in July, but there was not much action. We got frustrated, even knowing that God's plans are always perfect, and not always in sync with our own timing ideas. We got impatient, wanting to move forward. However, we had a wonderful last Christmas in this house; the girls came home, Libby with her husband, and were able to spend time here. We had all our usual traditions and put up all our decorations, placing each piece where it belongs in this home. Our outside lights added to the lit up culdesac, and it all felt right. We were where we were supposed to be. During the holidays, we let our first contract expire so we didn't have to worry about any showings or keeping the house perfectly clean. We just waited.
After the holidays, we chose another realtor and put the house back on the market at the beginning of February. Late on the night of Ed's 50th birthday, we got an offer! Happy birthday! We loved that! It was God's way of saying He had perfect timing all along (of course He did), and we just had to wait for Him. Things have gone smoothly so far while we wait for the closing in April. Writing these Slice of Life Story Challenge posts are a way to slow down and wait on memories, even while we're getting ready for the future. I've carved out some time each day to think about something I want to write about and remember. God has blessed us with this special home and town. Those blessing deserve some reflection. During this time of preparing, I'm also trying to be present. To wait.
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. - Isaiah 30:18
January 14: Carol Varsalona - BELIEVE
January 21: Margaret Simon - PRESENT
January 28: Michelle Haseltine - SELAH
February 4: Justin Stygles - (Blind) FAITH
February 11: Leigh Ann Eck - INTENT
February 18: Irene Latham - DELIGHT
February 25: Violet Nesdoly - MINDFULNESS
March 3: Julieanne Harmatz - ADMIRE
March 10: Holly Mueller - WAIT
March 17: Linda Kulp - SIMPLIFY
March 24: Doraine Bennett - SHINE
March 31: Donna Smith - BOLD
March 17: Linda Kulp - SIMPLIFY
March 24: Doraine Bennett - SHINE
March 31: Donna Smith - BOLD
Waiting for the right time is not my strong suit. I get impatient. Once a priest/friend told me that God's time is different from our time, slower and more patient. There are many times that I have to remember that.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your OLW; even apart from this reflection-post focused on your OLW, thanks to the graphic, every time I come to your site, I am reminded to WAIT! I appreciate your personal witness, related to the sale of your amazing house: yes! God's timing is perfect. I'm so glad you chose to include the Scripture passage you did. I was totally unaware of that idea that God Himself waits. Reflecting on your post, in which you connected “present” with “wait,” it occurs to me that optimistic, God-trusting waiting is holy and healthy if we don’t let the focus of what we are waiting for overtake our living in the present. Conversely, when we stop having something positive to wait for, to look forward to, to believe in, I think that’s when despair takes over. A delicate balance: waiting on God, and being present to Him and waiting contentedly through and in the “current events.” Tall order for me; being impatient, waiting is quite a test. God bless you for hosting SJT each week; Thursday is a day I wait for with great anticipation each week. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI like this..."Writing these Slice of Life Story Challenge posts are a way to slow down and wait on memories..."
ReplyDeleteHappy days for you! Congrats on selling your house!
As I was clicking the publish button, an email came up that you left a comment!
DeleteThere is almost nothing so stomach churning as waiting for a house to sell! Congratulations on "waiting it out"!
ReplyDelete"Wait" applies so well, in this case. God gets us where we need to be just in time... the right time.
Yes, so often our own imagined outcomes are surpassed by what actually does happen... if only we will wait to allow that to happen! Thank you for sharing, Holly!
ReplyDeleteHolly, I looked back to see when I wrote my first post on your OLW, wait. It was in the beginning of January. It is hard to believe that this long amount of time has passed by. I am waiting for the Lord to bless my son with a new direction in life and think back on the time last summer when my husband and I heard at the beach Mass: it is not our plan but God's plan. You and Ed have exemplified to me (through this post) the wonder of God's plan when we wait in earnest. I am delighted that you will be moving on in life to a new chapter in your lives. Congratulations and peace be with you both.
ReplyDeleteLovely story, Holly! I can so empathize with the stress of waiting for a property to sell. And then when it does, you wonder why you got so churned up over it! Blessings as you say goodbye to a dear friend, in the glow of knowing you waited well.
ReplyDeleteI love your OLW!!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you see the wait. As an opportunity to prepare. To reflect. That the waiting is all a part of a plan. That it is necessary. It makes me think of the time we wait for a baby's birth. it is a process that can't be hurried. It is in the patience and gestation. The waiting.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, Holly. I, too, like the line "Writing these Slice of Life Story Challenge posts are a way to slow down and wait on memories, even while we're getting ready for the future."
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the sale of the house. I agree God's timing is always perfect. I loved that you made even more wonderful memories in your family home.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on selling the house!
ReplyDeleteWaiting is so hard, but being patient while waiting is even harder. Sounds like you're doing well as you chip away the days until the closing in April.
I love your focus for this month on reflecting, preparing, being present, and waiting.
ReplyDelete