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Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

August 24, 2017

Waiting like a Mother

It seems to me that waiting well is like walking on a train trellis. (Not that I’ve ever done that, mind you, but the visual seems apt.)

Step too far in one direction, and you’re liable to fall into the ditch of obsessing over what you’re waiting for. You become so enmeshed in that one thing that you lose sight of the people around you and essentially stop living your life.

But step too far in the other direction, and you’re bound to step into the pit of a calloused heart. You end up stuffing down that thing you so desperately desire. You numb yourself, all but forgetting that you made to long for more.

It’s just so hard to keep our feet planted in the sweet spot in the middle.

I’m waiting right now. Waiting for contractions, waiting for labor to start, waiting for go-time. I have been in seasons of waiting before, but in the past these seasons have felt less defined. I didn’t have any way of knowing when I was getting near the end of the waiting—or if I would get the thing I was waiting for at all.

But now, as I’m 11 days past my due date, I find myself in the surreal place of hitting the day I was counting down to and not knowing where to go from here. (That said, I’ve never met a permanently pregnant woman, so I’m confident this will end at some point.)

I don’t know how long I have left for this particular brand of waiting, but I don’t want to waste it. I want to enjoy the anticipation of wondering what’s ahead while also savoring the right-now.

The truth is, we’re all waiting for something. No matter what we’re waiting for in this life, we’re ultimately waiting for something we long for more deeply than anything else: to be united with Christ. We aren’t alone in this—in fact, “all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

We are waiting for a different world, a better world . . . a world where there’s no sorrow and no sin and no suffering. A world where we’ll be united with the one we’re waiting for.

What if I could wait for Jesus the same way I’m waiting for this baby? What if I could be ready at any moment, with my bags packed and my phone numbers ready, but at the same time living my life fully? What if I could watch for the signs of go-time with as much anticipation, knowing that although there will be pain, the joy will be so worth it in the end?

One thing I do know about both kinds of waiting: we’re one day closer than we were yesterday.

Hope can feel unbearable; when we passionately long for what we do not have and it is taking too long to come, we are restless as a farmer waiting for rain after an August without a drop. . . . Any hope, no matter how thin it gets, is better than no hope at all. . . . Still, even if having hope is one hundred percent better than not having it, living by hope can get awfully wearying.
Lewis Smedes

5 Comments Filed Under: Family Tagged With: hope, motherhood, pregnancy, waiting
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About Stephanie

I think that glimmers of grace are all around us, and I'd love to share those stories with you. I hope you'll grab a cup of coffee and join me at StephanieRische.com.

Quote of the Week

“Some things have to be believed to be seen.”
—Madeleine L’Engle

Discussion

  1. Kristen Joy Wilks says

    August 24, 2017 at 8:41 am

    So lovely! Yes, waiting is hard. I remember waiting to fall in love and then waiting to get married and now we’ve been married 17 years and I”m waiting for that day when my husband and I will actually get away for a weekend together alone…ha! When I started being serious about writing, my goal was to be published before I had children…now my oldest is 13 and yes I am published, but there are so many books I’ve written that I am still waiting on. Will they ever find a home? But if I had stopped living my life to wait for them, oh how many things I would have missed. I just recently got the chance to watch my 3 sons dancing in the waves at the ocean, jumping over snapping crabs and exclaiming over jellyfish and the icy, salty cold that they refused to come away from even though they were drenched. Then they rolled in the sand and attacked me like very rowdy and sandy monsters. The now must be relished and lived and soaked up, it is a blessing.

    Reply
  2. Katie says

    August 24, 2017 at 10:11 am

    I just wanted to let you know I am praying for you! I read your book last year (I am a single lady!) and found your message so encouraging. Thank you for being so open and sharing your wonderfully composed thoughts! Prayers for a safe delivery.

    Reply
  3. Maggie R says

    August 24, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    “What if I could wait for Jesus the same way I’m waiting for this baby? What if I could be ready at any moment, with my bags packed and my phone numbers ready, but at the same time living my life fully? What if I could watch for the signs of go-time with as much anticipation, knowing that although there will be pain, the joy will be so worth it in the end?”

    I love this, Stephanie – thank you!

    Reply
  4. Merry says

    August 24, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    “What if I could wait for Jesus the same way I’m waiting for this baby? What if I could be ready at any moment, with my bags packed and my phone numbers ready, but at the same time living my life fully? What if I could watch for the signs of go-time with as much anticipation, knowing that although there will be pain, the joy will be so worth it in the end?”

    LOVE!
    and looks like I’m not the only one….

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Laughing with God says:
    November 28, 2017 at 8:47 am

    […] could stock up on how-tos and stories and firsthand accounts. And since Graham made his appearance two weeks late, I filled the bonus time with—you guessed it—more books. If there’s a literary equivalent to […]

    Reply

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