Have you ever felt so ready for the next chapter of your life, but found yourself stuck in the waiting? Maybe you’re ready for the next level in an important relationship, your finances, or your career, but feel stalled and frustrated because you haven’t seen the success for which you’ve been preparing.
We have lived through a world put on pause, and so many of our dreams have been deferred.
Today I want to encourage you that those delays and the long season of waiting has not been wasted.
For it is in the waiting that we are prepared not to simply gain success, but to steward success.
Last year, my husband planted a bed of asparagus in our garden. When we planted them, he explained to me that asparagus take three years to grow until they are ready to be picked and eaten.
After they were first planted, we were able to see little sprouts sticking up, barely poking their tops out of the ground. If you watch my latest video, you’ll be able to see what came in this year…one sprout that is over two feet tall! The top portion of this giant sprout looks like asparagus that is ready to be picked. It looks like a mature plant, it looks ready to pick and enjoy, but my husband assured me that even though it looks full-grown, it’s just not ready yet. To pick it now would ruin the intricate root system that must grow to firmly stabilize the plant before any of the sprouts can be picked. To pick it now would cause the entire plant to wither and die.
But here’s the thing – my husband insists that next year, if we continue to nurture the sprouts now, our entire bed of asparagus is going to be completely full of mature plants ready to be harvested. Not only will they be ready, but they will continue to grow season after season.
I don’t think we’re so different from these plants. So many times, we can become so frustrated by the aspects of our lives that look ready for the next step, but in reality, they just need more time to grow.
Sometimes, we must shift our gaze from what looks ready on the surface and look instead to the deeper foundations that are being formed in these seasons of waiting. We must also resist the temptation to become frustrated or bitter when things aren’t coming together in the timing that we had hoped.
In these moments, I challenge you to trust the process and trust that God really does have our best interests at heart. Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Our own understanding will tell us we are ready before our roots are strong enough – before our foundations are solid. However, when we give ourselves to building the things that will keep us rooted when we finally see the success we’ve been working toward, we are giving ourselves to sustaining the success that we achieve.
So right now, maybe you’re still waiting, but waiting is never wasted if it is best preparing you for what’s to come. If you will just hold on, be patient, keep doing the right things, keep watering, keep nourishing, keep growing, when the time finally does come, you will be able to withstand the storms that come with success, the opportunities that come with success, and the temptations that come with success.
Coach Yourself
In what areas of your life do you feel you’re stuck in the waiting?
How can you use this time to invest in yourself and your future goals?
