Being willing to wait isn't something Americans are accustomed to. We don't have to wait to get home to call someone, we have a cell phone. We don't have to know how to look things up in a dictionary or an encyclopedia, we use the internet. We don't have to wait for a meal to be cooked on the stove or in the oven, we have the microwave. We don't have to wait for things anymore. It has just become the normal way of life. Waiting isn't fun. It isn't easy to be still and wait for those things that are the deepest desires of you heart. Trust me I know. I have been there and experienced it.
Rushing through things is part of my norm I suppose. I am so used to having to rush from thing to thing from being so overly-scheduled. I am used to being busy from the time I get up to the time I lay back down at night. So for me this season of waiting has been particularly difficult. Even more so when it, at times, felt like I was completely alone in this whole waiting game. I know I wasn't really alone, but when you are the only single person in your group of friends, it has a tendency to make you feel that way. I knew that what I was waiting for was out there somewhere, but it seemed like just as I was getting close enough to reach out and grab onto it, it would suddenly become farther and farther away. That is until, I obeyed the call to come to Africa in July.
Three months ago when I left America, I honestly had no idea how this trip was going to turn out. I got onto a plane and knew that once I landed I was going to stay until the end of August. I knew that I was going to meet a man that other people had told me was perfect for me. What I didn't know is that I was going to lose my heart in the process. I didn't really know that I was going to find once I landed in Kenya, but I knew that somewhere in the middle of all of this hopelessness, there was going to be something amazing waiting for me. Did I know that I would be coming home with an engagement ring and a promise of becoming Mrs. Jim Cooper shortly after I got home? Nope not at all what was on my agenda for this trip. It was on God's agenda. It is all falling into place just as He wants it to.
The thing that still amazes me is that I can remember being about 12 years old at camp one summer and clearly hearing the voice of God telling me that I was going to be a missionary one day with my husband. I can also remember laughing and saying "No thanks, I like it in America just fine. Pick someone else." I dismissed it. I pushed it to the side and went on ahead with my own thoughts and dreams and plans. Now I am sitting here wondering, what if I had said yes to begin with. What would have happened then? Would Jim and I have met sooner, been together longer? I don't have an answer for those questions.
What I do know at this time is that God is taking things that were broken and messed up and turning them into something beautiful and usable for His purposes. Coming to Africa was the best decision of my life. In the midst of brokenness, hopelessness, and sadness, I have found love. More love than I can comprehend most days. I am learning more about love that I thought possible.
My encouragement to you from Kenya for today, consider the things that you are waiting for and what value you place on them. If it is something you really, really value, you'll be willing to wait. And trust me on this one, waiting on God to bring you just the right thing at just the right time is ALWAYS worth it. What God brings to you will be by far better than anything you could wish or hope for and will most likely be more than what you could imagine!
~Melody~
Rushing through things is part of my norm I suppose. I am so used to having to rush from thing to thing from being so overly-scheduled. I am used to being busy from the time I get up to the time I lay back down at night. So for me this season of waiting has been particularly difficult. Even more so when it, at times, felt like I was completely alone in this whole waiting game. I know I wasn't really alone, but when you are the only single person in your group of friends, it has a tendency to make you feel that way. I knew that what I was waiting for was out there somewhere, but it seemed like just as I was getting close enough to reach out and grab onto it, it would suddenly become farther and farther away. That is until, I obeyed the call to come to Africa in July.
Three months ago when I left America, I honestly had no idea how this trip was going to turn out. I got onto a plane and knew that once I landed I was going to stay until the end of August. I knew that I was going to meet a man that other people had told me was perfect for me. What I didn't know is that I was going to lose my heart in the process. I didn't really know that I was going to find once I landed in Kenya, but I knew that somewhere in the middle of all of this hopelessness, there was going to be something amazing waiting for me. Did I know that I would be coming home with an engagement ring and a promise of becoming Mrs. Jim Cooper shortly after I got home? Nope not at all what was on my agenda for this trip. It was on God's agenda. It is all falling into place just as He wants it to.
The thing that still amazes me is that I can remember being about 12 years old at camp one summer and clearly hearing the voice of God telling me that I was going to be a missionary one day with my husband. I can also remember laughing and saying "No thanks, I like it in America just fine. Pick someone else." I dismissed it. I pushed it to the side and went on ahead with my own thoughts and dreams and plans. Now I am sitting here wondering, what if I had said yes to begin with. What would have happened then? Would Jim and I have met sooner, been together longer? I don't have an answer for those questions.
What I do know at this time is that God is taking things that were broken and messed up and turning them into something beautiful and usable for His purposes. Coming to Africa was the best decision of my life. In the midst of brokenness, hopelessness, and sadness, I have found love. More love than I can comprehend most days. I am learning more about love that I thought possible.
My encouragement to you from Kenya for today, consider the things that you are waiting for and what value you place on them. If it is something you really, really value, you'll be willing to wait. And trust me on this one, waiting on God to bring you just the right thing at just the right time is ALWAYS worth it. What God brings to you will be by far better than anything you could wish or hope for and will most likely be more than what you could imagine!
~Melody~
Just Beautiful Melody...love ya, Auntie Georgie
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