Finding Gratitude in the Waiting

Finding gratitude in the waiting is rarely fun. It becomes a struggle when we are stuck in line. When we aren’t where we want to be or where we thought we would be, then we tend to start tapping our feet and feeding the anxious annoyance in us (and often aground us).

Even when the line is moving along and things are pretty good or at least there are no storms, finding gratitude in the waiting offers some challenges.

Practice gratitude until it becomes your default and gratitude will become your natural state of being.

Finding Gratitude Despite Being Sick and Tired

Seven weeks in a hotel may look glamorous on television, but it’s not so pleasant in real life. Not only did we have to deal with eating out for every meal, but we also had to clean our rooms because of the quarantine that had been issued.

Our 2020 was not going the way we had planned. As a matter of fact, there was nothing on the #WhiteBoardofWorldDomination that I was checking off – mainly because it was caught up in the mess left behind by the tornado.

We moved from a hotel to a tiny home where we could at least cook our meals and store food in a real refrigerator. But after several months of using someone else’s stuff, my husband cracked. “I’m tired of being on vacation. I want to go home.”

When you are tired of being in an unsettled state or sick of being sick or wearied from all the wandering, it can be tough to find something positive to latch on to. 

No matter how nice things are where you are, if you aren’t where you wanted to be it can be uncomfortable. 

Maybe that’s why the Israelites kept complaining. God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and miraculously taken them to a safe place (by parting a sea no less), but they managed to find plenty of clouds in their silver lining.

“It’s great that God is feeding us with angel food, but some variety would be nice. We got plenty of variety back when we were slaves.”

“Our shoes and clothes aren’t wearing out, and that’s all well and good, but it’d be even better if we could just stop walking.”

Often we get to a place where things are going good, but not going right (according to our original plan) and we begin to focus all of our energy on what is against what we wanted instead of locking into what is good.

Finding gratitude in the waiting times takes determination, repetition, and reminders.

Finding Gratitude by Default

Sitting out on the back porch overlooking the creek soothed my soul. I could listen to the birds singing. I could hear the running water. Even the squirrels chatter made me smile. The wind would dapple the sunlight around the yard.

It was a delight to my eyes, my ears, and my heart.

Sitting in the middle of town (where we still find ourselves) waiting for things to go back to “normal,” I have struggled to find the same type of happy place. From back yard, you can hear the traffic across the way unless the neighboring restaurant has the air conditioners running and then you don’t hear much over that industrial noise. Sitting on the deck would be nice, if neighbors didn’t have the need need to talk on their phones on a level even the dolphins can hear (and we aren’t anywhere near the ocean). 

After a visit out to where my happy place used to be, I went to a negative place. My neighbor had humming bird feeders covered with visitors. The flowers were blooming all around the place. While we were out there, a family of deer sauntered across the field.

It took all I had not to burst into tears. When I got back to our rental, I did cry out to God through my tears. “I’m tired. I want to go home.”

Looking to the Word for Help

In Deuteronomy, Moses declares over Joshua:

“Be strong and courageous. It is the Lord who goes before you. The Lord will be with you! The Lord will not leave you nor forsake you.”  – from Deuteronomy 31: 6 – 8

I grabbed that promise when I read it and I began to repeat it until it settled in my heart and I breathed its truth. 

The next morning, I went out to watch the sunrise with a fresh cup of coffee. In shocked delight, I watched as a pair of deer sauntered around in the field across the way. They were out there for several minutes and then they were gone. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Life isn’t always easy on us, but the Truth doesn’t change. It is in the Truth that we find gratitude even in the waiting moments.

Be determined

The more determined you are to find something then the more you will find it. Just try hiding presents from a child determined to see them. Practice finding gratitude by writing one gratitude each morning. 

Determined gratitude never finds an end.

Keep repeating

The more you do something the more natural it becomes. By seeking one gratitude each morning for the last two years, I now wake up looking for a gratitude to embrace.

Seek gratitude until the search for gratitude is your natural expectation.

Get surrounded

Build a wall a journal, or a force for gratitude so when the going gets tough, you have a covering of gratitude to lean into.

• People who give you a pep
• Songs that make you sing
• Music that makes you dance

Sometimes you need a reminder to boost your gratitude.

Focused on Gratitude in the Waiting

Hurry up and then wait. Live seems to bombard us with these moments – particularly at a time when waiting is the last thing we want to do. These are the times when we have to be intentional about gratitude so we don’t get pulled down by negatives. 

Whatever helps you with finding gratitude, do it. Whatever it takes to hold on to gratitude, do that as well. Finding and maintaining a gracious spirit will give you the strength to stand, the fortitude to keep doing, and the balance to withstand the chilly storms of the world.

The more you invest in gratitude – through determination, repetition, and reminders – the more natural and focused you will be when it comes to finding gratitude in waiting.

Listen to the #GrowingHOPE podcast

Click the play button below to listen to today’s episode on Butterfly Talk. Inspired by the “You can’t talk butterfly to caterpillar” quote, we start a series of shows to grow up butterfly talking. This week’s focus is on feeding the caterpillar.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Email | RSS | More