Hurry up and... Wait.

I had waited 13 years for the end of the sentence that began with Go. So, you would think patience would be easy by now. I have had 4 1/2 years in the Army, plus ROTC throughout college, where get ready quick, then stand in line for a very long time, is a way of life. I'm a Labor and Delivery nurse, where frequently you admit the patient as quickly as you can, then often run around and just wait for a baby that may or may not come on your shift. It seems this is good training for the prep for going to another country.
I rushed around the week after it was approved for me to be going to PNG, getting paperwork completed for my work permit. It was sent on August 10th, 3-5 day US express mail. I get word it reached PNG on Aug 21, then finally hear its in the right hands to get completed on September 12!! There was some mix up at the post office there, but all in all I find it humorous it took over a month!!

The things we just take for granted here, like mail getting where we want it promptly, not going to happen there. They shop for groceries a month at a time, I have a hard time planning meals for the week. I drive myself everywhere I want to go, by myself, about 95% of the time here. I will never go anywhere alone in PNG.

Last month I received an email from PNG. The last line of his email was this-"when I go to the ends of the sea, God goes with me, but not always email...patience."

That patience is truly being developed in me now. God is teaching me to look for the reasons for the wait. Some are not always apparent immediately, but that's ok. The verses God has given me for this season of my life are--
Psalm 32:8
"The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you."
And
"The LORD replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed!
For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it. (Habakkuk 1:5 NLT)
And I can't forget--
"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT)

All of these verses are helping with this new season of "hurry up and wait." None of them are specifically about patience, and I'm for sure not praying for patience, (learned in the past God gives you plenty of ways to grow it when you pray for it!!) but its certainly coming in handy right now. I can't wait to get there, to Papua New Guinea, but there is so much to be done. I have so much I want to do in Illinois, with family, my church, my job. They are all blessings God has given, and I want to enjoy them to the fullest while I can and help as much as I can, but it's still a struggle. Patience, and learning how to balance the urgent verses the important, lessons I need, and how I'm getting equipped. Ahh, God is working on me!!!