Waiting is hard. Do you ever feel that way? Waiting is hard for me because I’m a “let’s get things done, task-oriented, checklist kind of girl.” It’s hard for me to sit still. I’m sure that some of you reading this blog can relate to this kind of personality. There have been many times in my life when I’ve had to learn the difficult life skill of waiting … waiting to get pregnant, waiting for God to call me out of my job when I was feeling the pull to be home with my little ones, waiting in the grocery line (ha!), waiting to find a new church community, and waiting on God’s timing to find our family a new home.
This last one…when God called us to WAIT when we knew he was calling us to MOVE (move to a new home/neighborhood, that is), was a season of growth, stretching, trust, and surrender.
Waiting and moving, two seemingly opposite things that my husband and I were seeking God’s direction on at the exact same time. The irony of that! Waiting for God to show us when and where to move didn’t come easy nor naturally for me. I wanted things to work out MY way and in MY timing. But what God taught me in that one year of prayer and waiting has impacted and radically changed the way I now view waiting.
God is at work in the waiting.
He has a purpose in the waiting.
Waiting allows space for God to give us his best.
So, the story of waiting on him to show us when and where to move has been a story that we often retell to ourselves and our kids when we need to recall and remember that God is in control and we are not. And that his ways are higher and better than our ways. It’s a story that we love to retell to those who ask us … How did you find your house? Or, what made you decide to move into this neighborhood? We retell the story because it is a crazy story, an amazing story, a God story!
It reminds us of God and how he is working even when we don’t see it or feel it. It reminds us of answered prayers, of his character, and of his perfect plans and timing. It reminds us of the necessity of living with open hands and hearts of surrender to his will. This story reminds us of community, the ones that encouraged and prayed for us during the process of searching and waiting. It reminds us of the friendships that God had already prepared for us in advance before ever moving into the new neighborhood.
One full year of prayer and waiting and then he showed us exactly when and where he wanted us to live. God worked in so many amazing ways, but I want to share just one of the sweet things that God has shown me through this specific story of waiting.
Five years ago, when we moved into this “new to us” home, I started to realize that our home wasn’t about us or even FOR us, but it was always about him and how we could use the blessing of our home and our neighborhood for God and his purposes. We haven’t always gotten it right. We have failed. We have grumbled. We have been lazy. We have said “no” when we probably should have said “yes.” And there have even been times when we have said yes when we should have said no. Throughout the years, we have desired to be hospitable and for our home to be a place where people feel welcomed, cared for, and loved.
Opening our home has looked different through the years … family gatherings, neighbors hanging out around the fire pit, sleepovers or movie nights, an international student staying for two years, hosting vulnerable children, a bible study in the living room, or a friend stopping over for coffee or lunch. Sometimes work, school, or kids schedules have impacted our ability to host. Our little ones have quickly grown up into teenagers, so now we find ourselves in a new season of life where opening our home looks a little different. One of my new favorite ways we have opened up our home has been hosting what has come to be called “GATHER.”
The idea of GATHER came about through a conversation I had with a new neighbor friend whose daughter was in the same grade as my daughter. We both had a desire to see teenage girls across grades connect with each other and God. I had been feeling a tug on my heart to host a gathering once per month where girls could come together over dinner and hear a speaker share their story or discuss a specific topic that teenage girls could relate to. So, with some planning and prayer, four neighborhood moms and their daughters launched GATHER in January 2023. What a rich and life-giving experience it has turned out to be!
On a typical GATHER evening, girls begin arriving at 6:30, coming from various after-school activities. They are hungry and eager to be fed, not just with pizza, fruit, and dessert, but with the transforming word of God through the testimonies of others' lives that have been changed by Jesus. It’s been so beautiful to see these young 9th, 10th, and 11th grade girls huddle up together on couches, floors, and throw pillows and spend an hour and a half on a weeknight getting to know a new friend while listening to the wisdom being poured into them by other women who have already walked a few steps ahead in life.
Since the beginning of GATHER, we have had women of all ages come and speak on topics such as friendships, identity in Christ, how to share the gospel, addictions, insecurities and body image, salvation, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Each speaker has uniquely impacted the girls in different ways. This past spring, one speaker, in particular, shared her powerful testimony and how God used the brokenness and pain of her past to bring her to new life in Christ. Her testimony was incredible, and at the end of the evening, one 9th grade student gave her life to Christ right there in our living room!
Generations changed because of the power of the Gospel!
Generations changed because we said yes to opening our home!
What a glorious display of God’s love, redemption, purpose, and plan for our seemingly “broken” lives. We should never underestimate the power of our testimony and the impact that it can have in the lives of others.
On most monthly GATHER evenings, these teenage girls don’t rush out the door once the speaker has concluded. They linger a bit to connect with one another, while also getting a chance to share with the speaker how the topic was something they needed or the impact that it made. Opening our home so that the next generation can experience hospitality, connection, and hope through the stories of others' lives is so much fun!
So why have I shared all of this? Well, I’m hoping that my story of waiting on God, trusting him in his timing and his plans can reveal the magnificent handiwork of our good father. Pastor Bryan Loritts once said, “The only thing worse than waiting on God is wishing you had.” You see, if we had not waited on God, we would not have found our home. If we would not have found our home, then we would not have found our new neighbors. And without our new neighbors then the conversation about girls connecting with other girls would never have occurred, which means GATHER would never have existed. God had something to teach me in the waiting, and he has something to teach you in your seasons of waiting.
I’m learning to embrace the waiting rather than run from it.
I’m learning to wait on him because it’s so much better than I could have asked or imagined.
Opening my home to these amazing teenage girls has been a gift. And my hope for the 2024-25 school year is to start a similar gathering, called the FELLOWship, for my son and the other 9th grade boys at his school. These teenage girls and guys need the generations ahead of them to guide, disciple, speak truth, share wisdom, encourage, and love them!
I encourage you to consider ways that you might be able to open your home to the next generation, whether it be adolescents, teens, or college students. As our pastor JD Greear often says, “Only one life to live, will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” My hope for GATHER is that it will continue on for years to come, transforming lives for Jesus through the powerful testimony of the generations before.
Scripture God gave for GATHER:
He tends His flock like a shepherd.
He GATHERS the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.
Isaiah 40:11
Thank you so much for sharing. We are praying about our next season and moving too! This came at a perfect time, God is so so good.
Megan, thank you so much for sharing about your waiting season and how God has been able to work in that. My husband and I have an interview soon for a new mission field and this blog post came right on time. Thank you so much for sharing your story and inspiring many.