Waiting is easier when we can countdown the days to finally receive the desires of our heart. We can trust in this clarity as we commit ourselves to keep holding on – inching ever closer to our destination. But things are much harder when the dark days of winter continue with no immediate end in sight. And such waiting refines our faith and exposes our true hope, as we must often be willing to let go to receive.
To be sure, many goals and great expectations fill our hearts. And these desires are by design, rightly honored. As such, it’s only reasonable to look forward to their fulfillment with hope. And this is easy to do especially when our efforts allow us to make clear and concrete steps toward our goal. But life often calls us to endure long winters with a heavy hope.
By its very nature we hope for what we don’t yet have. And it takes faith to hold on to hope when we can do nothing to make the desires of our heart come any quicker. This is like waiting for the thaw of spring after a long winter. We know spring is coming, but we’re powerless to put it on our timeline. We must simply wait patiently.
And yet time does not stop in this waiting. Not only do we grow restless, but we also start to wonder if God has forgotten us. What do we do with our desires for our work to be blessed, for our relationships to flourish, or for the healing that doesn’t yet seem to come?
A long winter reminds us to trust God with our desires. And even when it seems like things are not moving, or that we’re otherwise missing opportunities from a human perspective, we’re willing to let go of how we think things should work out to stay open to the goodness God has for us.
In the end, long winters allow for the death of hope on our terms, and frees us to receive more of the life only God can offer.
Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash
