The Waiting Room

Story #478 of New Mex adventures.

My dog caught a gopher.

We have a lousy problem with gopher(s) in our backyard. There's holes everywhere/all the time. Doesn't matter if you cover them up; there'll be newly dug cave holes the very next day.
Well... the one gopher likes to run and hide in our rainspout. The thing is he just keeps running in it but can't crawl up it of course... so all you see is this tail sticking out and hear him frantically racing in place, in effort to go up the spout. And there you have Obie... stiffly watching him cause he's too much of a wimp to do anything about it.
Except this day.... he got the courage to stick his nose in the spout and drag that sucker out by the tail. . . and then began to play with it. NOT OK.
So there we were... Obie running around tossing the gopher back and forth, with me in just my socks chasing him in circles, and Boba cluelessly following. Just one big dusty fiasco. 
We live in a crazy circus my hooligans and I.

Oh yeah btw, Boba is fitting in quite nicely! She's so lovable. and soft. and little.
But she won't be for long... so I'm savoring this cuddly stage. Though I hate that this stage also is mixed in with the "I have to pee. I'll just go right here right now" stage. This dog has such a freaking tiny bladder. Her preciousness equals it out tho... 
I love my kids. 
They love to wrestle and its adorable. Until they grab each other's skin and yank. Then its not too pretty....but yah know.. sibling rivalry and all. 

Yeah.... he's kind of a spaz. 

So yeah we're doing pretty well here. 

Anyways.. I've been kinda preachy in my posts lately. Idk why... but I just have stuff on my heart that I wish to share. 
Lately though, God has been talking to me MAJORLY. 
For the past 6 weeks at our church, the sermon series has been called The Waiting Room. And I have to admit... LONGEST 6 WEEKS EVER. it felt like it kept dragging on and on and on. Especially the last service ( I forgot my coffee and could barely stay awake. It felt like the preacher kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.)
Anyways... even though it was a pretty lengthy series... there were things that really hit home. 
Lemme give you the back story. 
I've been trying to get a job on base. I need to work. Like you have no clue... I need to be out in the fresh air... raking bunkers and mowing greens. I need this in my life. I need to see the sunrise every morning. So I applied way way way back in January. They didn't start looking over my application for awhile (like 2 months). And then after I got my interview and what not.. some of my paperwork/other crap got messed up so it was looking like I wouldn't be able to start work for awhile. 
So, you can say that it was trying my patience. 
Adding on to this was some emotional stuff... 
I feel kinda purposeless sometimes... especially when I'm not working/keeping myself busy. Like... I'm stuck. Stuck in this moment in my life.  Yah know? Like.. I love my life truly. But I tend to be a pessimist. I wonder if I'm living up to my true potential? If I could be something more... someone with a better purpose... 
And anyways.. these thoughts mixed in with the waiting on the job just wasn't the funnest thing in the world. 
I was negative. I was impatient. I was sad. I was restless. I was angry. 
But then low and behold, last Sunday, the first words outta the pastor's mouth were "Do you ever feel like you don't have a purpose? Like you're stuck where you're at in your life?"
OK GOD I HEAR YOU. Loud and clear. You're speaking right to me. I'm pretty sure my mouth fell open. 
It was just a wow moment.. 
To continue.. he went on to say that you're waiting for a reason. God hasn't forgotten you. He is PREPARING you in this time of waiting... He's making you ready for the next chapter in your life. 
He shared a verse in James... 1:2-4. 

"Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."

Lemme give yah a word definition...

Perseverance: steadfast in moments of delay

I think right about then I laughed out loud. It's like God was saying "Yo I'm gonna use this pastor to tell yah what I need to say to yah, k?"

When you're steadfast in moments of waiting... in the end you will be fulfilled; lacking in nothing. 

It was just the shove that I needed. The boost of encouragement. To keep waiting even though it feels pointless. That its all part of the plan. 

It just goes to show that even when you think God isn't really showing Himself in your life, He couldn't be more in tune with you. He know's every thought. Every emotion. Every desire. 

He just wants you to rely on Him.. and trust in Him. He'll carry through. 

And yah know what? He came through. I start in processing/ working next week. And I couldn't be  happier or relieved. Like I'm fulfilled. Not lacking in anything... 

God didn't forget about me... He was just making me stronger. Making me stay in the waiting room.. cause he was preparing me for this. He was telling me that I need to rely on Him more.. that my sole purpose in life should be living/trusting in Him above all else! 

And He literally had to shout this to me.