Does God Want Me to Stretch While I Wait for the Next Thing?

Sometimes I wish I could read the mind of God—or at least understand his timing. But I’m learning to stretch while I wait. #oneword2022 #faith #fmfparty #wait #stretch #godswill #decisions

Sometimes I wish I could read the mind of God—or at least understand his timing. But I’m learning to stretch while I wait.

Sometimes I wish I could read the mind of God—or at least understand his timing. But I’m learning to stretch while I wait. #oneword2022 #faith #fmfparty #wait #stretch #godswill #decisions

Writing With My Foot

“Use your foot to write the alphabet in the sky,” my physical therapist told me.

“What if I have bad foot-writing,” I joked.

“I’m not a teacher, I won’t tell,” she said with a smile as she watched me try to form giant letters with my clumsy, swollen foot.

After surgery last year to repair a ruptured tendon in my ankle, I wanted to resume my normal activities as quickly as possible. I went to physical therapy twice a week and did all the stretches and exercises I could at home while I waited for healing.

If I stood up, I would stretch my calf muscles. When I sat down, I wrote the alphabet with my foot. I did lunges to stretch my hamstrings. The stretching gave me a purpose in my wait for a return to activities I love—mountain biking, hiking, running, birdwatching, and photography.

The stretching gave me purpose in the waiting, and a way to deal with the setbacks of nerve pain, incision infection, and swelling.

How to Stretch While You Wait

Now I have entered a different kind of waiting. We waited until after Christmas to list our investment property so our renters wouldn’t have to move over Christmas. They moved out late. The Realtor inspected the home before we listed it but discovered a major problem in the crawl space. Repairing it could cost thousands of dollars and take months.

What seemed like a clear decision in November, seems unclear in February. But I must ask myself, does God want me to stretch while I wait? Does he want me to stretch my faith in his provisions? Should I put off a major purchase during this uncertain period?  What do I need to learn while I wait?

I can’t give you specifics on stretching while you wait, but I can share my belief God gives us periods of waiting. And during those times, he wants us to stretch so we are more equipped to handle his next best thing.

What’s causing you to stretch lately?

This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!

Sometimes I wish I could read the mind of God—or at least understand his timing. But I’m learning to stretch while I wait. #oneword2022 #faith #fmfparty #wait #stretch #godswill #decisions

17 Comments

  1. Some stretches feel worse before they feel better. It’s sometimes uncomfortable when God puts us in “stretching” situations. When He has, I’ve been grateful afterwards for lessons in faith and knowing Him better through the stretching–even while hoping I won’t have to repeat the lesson. 🙂 But there will be other lessons and stretching in the future, which will keep our faith in good shape.
    Barbara Harper recently posted…What Can We Know For Sure?My Profile

  2. “The stretching gave me purpose in the waiting,” I’m glad you’re better, Anita!

    “And a way to deal with the setbacks of nerve pain, incision infection, and swelling.” That sounds painful!

    “I pray your investment property issue is resolved in a timely manner. Can it be sold as is or does it have to be remedied first?
    Lisa Blair recently posted…Survive and ThriveMy Profile

  3. Ahhh, the precious gems of Faith learned in the waiting. I understand this one Anita, I have had many of these lessens & still am, in the waiting for healing of my chronic health issues.
    But the gems that have been revealed in the meantime have been eternally precious & invaluable.
    Blessings,
    Jennifer
    Tea With Jennifer recently posted…The Art of the SlowMy Profile

  4. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching while waiting-literally and figuratively. As someone posted above, I’ve learned to develop a posture of active waiting. Keeping eyes open and watching for God’s hand moving in little ways remind me I am seen.

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Anita Ojeda

Anita Ojeda juggles writing with teaching high school English and history. When she's not lurking in odd places looking for rare birds, you can find her camping with her kids, adventuring with her husband or mountain biking with her students.

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