Hey y'all, happy Monday, your new favorite day of the week… because it's BLOG DAY!! I’m really excited for this one because this is something that has been on my heart for a while now. 

Over these past few months, I have been in such a season of waiting. It’s really easy to feel like God is doing nothing when you're in this waiting season. That’s where I seem to keep finding myself as I wait to head off to the field. I’m excited for what God is going to do, but in my looking ahead, I often miss what God is doing right now. Whether it is excitement, fear, anxiety, or uncertainty, we can get so worked up with emotion about when God will do something we don’t even pay attention to what He is doing right now. But God is never absent, and He is never doing nothing. Your waiting is not because God isn’t there; it's because God is teaching, preparing, or pruning you. Waiting is not punishment, but rather preparation for what God is going to do in your life. John 15:2 says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” This is such a beautiful verse that shows us how much time God spends on us. He is never in a rush and takes the time to prepare your heart for what is coming. 

Now waiting can be super frustrating, especially when we feel like we are ready for what we are waiting for, whether it is a job, relationship, an answer for where to live or go to school, or anything else. But the waiting season is so beautiful because it allows us to focus on how God is shaping us and growing our faith. 

My encouragement for you, and for myself, is to listen. In the waiting, when it feels silent or like God doesn’t hear you, know that God is still working. He will never leave you alone, especially in a place of uncertainty. Look for ways right now that God is shaping your heart and growing your faith, and practically look for ways you still need to grow before this waiting season ends. Now this is not at all to say that God makes us perfect or 100% prepared for what He is going to do, because that's not true. There will always be room for growth, and we will never be fully prepared, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work that needs to be done in waiting. 

This season also gives us the amazing opportunity to be able to look back on what God was doing once we are out of the waiting. So write things down or take mental note of how you see God, so when another waiting season comes, because it will, you can know that God didn’t leave you last time and He won't leave you now. Take heart and listen to Jesus; He is always working and pruning you and growing your faith. 

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!