Waiting Joyfully!

With Valentine’s Day approaching again, so many thoughts in my head, I can’t keep them quiet. Things I should say encouraging others, loving others and serving others. I can’t bear to keep it all in. Love and joy; how to find and keep it. How to enjoy yourself and live out loud while you wait? Waiting Joyfully? What does it mean?

 

Waiting means to be ready and available, to stay in a place of expectation. Joyful is a feeling, causing or showing pleasure.   So waiting joyfully means to feel, cause or show pleasure while you are in a state of expectation. In other words, be happy and have fun while you’re waiting for whatever!

If I’m waiting on God to send me who he has chosen, I must be ready and available. Ready by praying for “the one”, letting God work my kinks out and reading his word and using it in my life. Available by letting God use me to reach others, encouraging others and serving others. You never know what friendships will come out of being available. All the while, feeling, causing and showing pleasure by enjoying all these things and not being focused on me.

As a single person, I used to pine away for someone to love me like I wanted to be love. I thought it was me! Telling myself “What’s wrong with me?” I’m nice, lovable, I think I’m pretty, I’m successful, sometimes sarcastic, solves problems, cooks, stubborn (that’s questionable), etc. But if I am completely honest, there are some areas in my life that need tweaking. Some things only God can tweak and some things I should be tweaking. God wants to make sure he is giving me his best and giving someone else his best.

How can I wait joyfully? How can I even wait?

There are 7 questions you should ask yourself honestly to help you wait joyfully.

Who are you? What do you like about you? What don’t you like about you? What are the things you like to do? (activities, hobbies) When was the last time you did something for yourself or by yourself that was fun? Where have you always wanted to go? Why do you think you’re unworthy to do things by yourself?

God created you with gifts and talents to serve and love others, not to wait to be served and loved by others. He wants to complete you by filling you with him. To give you love, show you how to love yourself, so you can serve and love others. If you’re waiting you’re not alone. There are a lot of us out there. But while you’re waiting, wait joyfully! Be active! Live your best life! Do things you want to do alone or with some friends! Take pictures, have stories and memories to tell! Go places and serve others! Enjoy now! Do what makes you happy!

Serve God! Live for him and your life will never be boring! I may not have a significant other right now, but I do have lots of Christ-following friends who love and care for me to hang around and do things with. I have a family who loves me (most of the time, lol) to visit and hang with. I have a church family I get to serve with. But most importantly, I have a heavenly father who loves me unconditionally every moment of my life. He fulfills every need and wants the best for me. He searches my heart, knows my thoughts and listens to my prayers. He loves me! There is no greater love than his. I will choose to wait joyfully, live a life that pleases him through friendships of loving and serving others.

Waiting Joyfully: where boredom is not an option!

(Replace your name with the word “Love/it”) God is working in your life! God=Love

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The picture is me serving in Honduras last summer! Be Blessed!