Saturday, June 30, 2018

Waiting Well and Walt Disney

My husband and I told our daughters about our plans to vacation at Disney World this fall.

Talk about waiting with anticipation! When the trip was still 9 months out, our girls were already wearing us out with questions and suggestions. As we're getting closer to our departure date, their excitement only grows.

This is how I feel like I should be waiting when I am waiting on God - imagining, dreaming, asking, seeking...

BUT, what exactly am I waiting for?

Yes, I may find myself in a season of waiting for various news or specific resources. However, ultimately, as a Christ-follower, shouldn't I primarily always be waiting for His return? Am I anticipating the time when I no longer wrestling with my sin? Am I anxiously awaiting the day when the consequences of living in a fallen world have all disappeared?

Most of the time, for me anyway, I do not live waiting like I should. I don't think about eternity. I don't look at my life through the lens of His perspective. I don't wait with anticipation of His return.

For me, it is SO easy to become distracted by lesser things, things that pale in comparison to the unshakable things that Hebrews 12 tells about.

For me, there are the daily demands and routine responsibilities that keep my focus on the temporary trappings of this world.

For me, I settle on selfish goals and seem to forget the reality of Jesus returning.

The tension -or balance- is hard to achieve. Anyone got any ideas on how to be faithful in the mundane everyday AND the desire to just stand on the side of a mountain looking to the skies?

My prayer is that I would be looking toward eternity in the same way we are looking toward our Disney World Vacay . . .

1. We are talking about it. -What we are going to do, going to eat, who we will see, where we will go? Rarely do we gather around the family dinner table and NOT talk about Disney. When we gather with other Christians, we should share the anticipation and talk about the glory days that we have yet to experience.

2. We are seeking help. -We are working with an awesome travel agent. (If you need one, message me and I'll get you her contact 411!) We are asking her questions and listening to her answers. She has been there and done that and has the experience we lack. True, it is not very likely any of us can sit down and have a conversation with any person who's been to heaven. . .  BUT wait! Jesus did give us the ultimate Helper in the Holy Spirit. He can guide us and prepare us for the journey ahead better then any travel planner ever.

3. We are actively planning. -Our daughters are already talking about what they will pack. From clothes for the parks to books for the trip, the preparations at this point are still mainly mental, but they are well underway. I am reading blogs and monitoring Facebook pages to gain fresh perspectives and new insights since our last trip 4 years ago. As Christ-followers, as long as the Lord waits to return, we should be actively "packing" -learning new Biblical truths and growing in our faith, leaving behind the fleshly desires of our old nature and putting on the new.

4. We are intentionally investing. -No doubt, a trip like this for our family is expensive. Any link on Pinterest that has the phrase "Disney on a Dime" will be followed! We are setting aside funds and making payments so when we load the car and begin our trek south, we are not thinking about the financial sacrifice. As Christians, yes we give money to the local church. We tithe and make offerings. We also support other ministries with monetary gifts as the Lord leads - but our investment in the coming Kingdom is much more than financial. We invest in each other -our children, the members of our church and others God brings across our paths. Discipleship done right is downright messy and expensive. It costs us time and emotion. It requires us to sacrifice our own desires to make it happen.

The more our family talks about it, seeks help, actively plans and intentionally invests in our trip, the more focused on it we will be. The same holds true with learning to live with an eternal perspective while we wait on Christ's return. . .

My husband and I do not regret telling the girls about the trip. We are loving watching their anticipation grow. We are getting such enjoyment from seeing their faces light up and hearing the excitement in their voices. This is part of the fun. The waiting is even good . . . As a Christian, my anticipation of the second coming of Christ is a good thing as well. One day, when He does return, the waiting will be over and it will have all been good. The getting there is not just worth the destination, it is part of its ultimate worth. This "waiting" experience will add to the sweetness of what I am waiting for.

Lord, help us to wait for You the way You would have us to . . . Let us talk about it, encouraging each other. Let us look to Your Spirit to help us. Give us an active plan to grow in Your ways. Help us to intentionally invest in our faith and in each other. Be glorified in our waiting . . .  

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