When the Waiting is Hard

I feel like I’ve been waiting all my life.  Waiting to start middle school, to turn 13, to start high school, to learn to drive, to get married, to have kids, to finish my degree, to buy a house, to buy a house (again), to be promoted, to buy a new car, for Christmas (always for Christmas!), etc.

I think some waiting is fun (like Christmas!), and I also believe there is waiting that is excruciating.  It is the latter when I grow weary.  I pout in my weariness, and sometimes I complain (some would say too much).  There have been times when I’ve been so sick of waiting that I have made bad decisions or acted impulsively.  Often, I have regretted moving too fast.

Have you just ever felt so exhausted in the waiting that you wanted to force a change? Me too! A long time ago, in a faraway land, I thought I was ready to be promoted to a Vice President role.  I put together an elaborate plan (yes, in a three-ring binder complete with tabs) and presented it to my boss.  Amazingly, he didn’t laugh at me (at least not out loud).  He just looked at me and said, “You have to do the work of the position you want.  You don’t get promoted to the job, and then you try to do the job. You wouldn’t be ready if we promoted you that way.” 

After that day, I studied the VPs that I worked with. I studied how they dressed and the items they kept (or didn’t keep) on their desks. I observed them in meetings.  I even met with a few and asked for advice on what I needed to do to be ready for a VP role.  Some of their feedback was tough to hear, but in hindsight, it was good for me.

Around this same time, I began studying for my senior-level HR certification.  It took me six attempts to pass that exam!  (That’s the SPHR for the HR pros wondering.)  I’m not a great test taker, but more importantly, I think God was trying to tell me that I wasn’t ready for the certification.  My boss told me I wasn’t ready for a promotion, some of my coworkers were telling me the same thing, and now I couldn’t pass that test!  Somewhere in all of this, I went back to college and began working on a master's degree in HR.  I was really motivated!

This was a very long period of waiting. I learned so much through that journey—too much to share in one blog post. But I’ll tell you this: The value of honesty with your boss and coworkers is priceless. The value of time spent studying for a certification that I believed in and that I believed would help me in my chosen career is also priceless, as is that master's degree that I finally earned.

I share all of this with you to tell you that you are not alone in your struggle, in your waiting. Talk to your boss, your coworkers, or your therapist. Have confidence that you have what it takes to get through this season of waiting.  Ask yourself what you might do during this season to help you move along.  You will not get to the final answer in one giant leap, but little steps over time can have a big impact on your journey.

Be encouraged to live life abundantly today while you are in the waiting.  You can do this! I believe in you. And if you need someone to listen or to pray with you, please let me know. I’d be honored to do either or both!