Still Waiting, Still Trusting: A Girl’s Guide to the In-Between

For someone who loves to be on the move and get her hands busy, this has been one of the hardest seasons of my life. At first, I didn’t want to think about it deeply. “It’s only for a while”, I told myself. But slowly, the days turned into weeks and weeks into months and my patience was wearing thin. I thought of ways to maximize this time and earn some good cash but omooo! Learning a skill is easy until you have to apply it. Then you realize that you have to become an expert at it while learning some follow-come skills. It’s amazing when you have a support system in this period but there is a limit to what people can give you. 

I’ve had to learn some valuable lessons during this time, in tears and some in humor. So, if you’re someone who’s waiting for that appointment letter, financial break, engagement ring (or hey, can I go out on a date with you), baby J, whatever it is. Here are some of the lessons:

• Gratitude. This is one table I leave and end up coming back to. PL used to say that you might not be where you want to be but you’re not where you used to be. You think it could have been better but bruh! It could have been worse. What are those things you’ve gotten so used to that you don’t realize that people are still praying for? You want to live in a two-bedroom flat but you already live in a self-contained apartment, be grateful for that. You want a job that earns you millions annually but you already have one that earns you close to that, so be thankful. A grateful heart is a healthy heart and a healthy heart is a breeding place for more blessings (I hope you get the analogy).

• Stay with the process and trust God while in it. When it seems like nothing is working, God is. Don’t just be so caught up in goal getting that you fail to take in the process. The process is what births the person not the other way round.

• It’s your timeline not Bisi’s (please excuse me, Bisi). I see my colleagues making moves and sometimes I say offhandedly ‘God, see what my mates are doing’ and he says ‘you’re not your mates, you’re Kosisochukwu’. Understand that it’s not a competition with your colleagues but a competition with the current version of you.

• Stay prayed up. Talk about how you feel with your heavenly dad. Yeah, even the stuff you’re ashamed to voice out. I do these by journaling and going to someplace quiet to rant.

• Use the support system that you have like family, friends, church family and community. 

• Stand on the word you’ve received from God. Meditate on it, speak it! Sometimes your current situation does not look like the promise, so your feelings tend to get in the way. That’s why you need to declare it every day. Your feelings will eventually catch up.

• Don’t stay idle. Nature abhors vacuum. Ask God what you should be doing in this season and when he shows you, get to work. If it is to spend more time in prayer, do it. If it is to seek wise counsel, get to it. If it is to develop yourself in a particular area, what are you waiting for?                                                                                                     If this is what your current season looks like or you've been able to successfully navigate it, please share in the comments section. 

Adios!

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”

Romans 8:28 NLT