Girl Talk: God’s Timing…?

Before anyone says anything, yes I know “God’s timing is always perfect. He’s always on time.” Yet…waiting on God to get ready to do his things is a little well…it blows.

This past weekend I led youth group with my girls and because I was curious, I started a conversation about prayer. I asked what types of things they pray for and how they go about praying, as well as how heir friends, and they felt about prayer. I got some pretty typical answers from teenagers: good grades, and their families. Recently, thoughts of my future and future relationship have been plaguing my thoughts. I allowed the girls to ask me the same questions, to which I responded I pray for my career, understanding, and my future husband. The girls giggled when I responded and asked me why I pray for those things. My answer was this: it gets pretty damn frustrating.

“What Am I Doing??”

At the age I’m at where I’m doing everything I can and what I’m seemingly “supposed” to do e.g. pursing a degree, attending church nearly every time the doors are open, etc., it can also feel as if you’re doing nothing at all if you’re not moving and succeeding at the rate you’d expected to. What I’ve learned through this frustrating process is sometimes you literally have to take an L to bounce back. It may be a couple of L’s actually…but the point of taking them is to take the time to evaluate what you are doing and what exactly you aren’t doing. It’s so easy to get so caught up in the couple of things you’re doing right that you overlook areas that you could improve on to make yourself a better individual.

Are you taking advantage of being single?

Are you doing your best at your current job?

Don’t Ask For More, Prepare For More

If you aren’t doing those things, then why are you so eager to have more when you’re not effectively handling the hand you’ve been dealt? In the words of Ashley D., don’t ask for more prepare for more. If you don’t put any work or effort in to your situation how do you expect to handle more. if you’re not putting any work into being content alone in your singleness, have love and respect for yourself, or on issues you have…how do you expect to deal with and be there for a whole other person, which is what comes along with being in a relationship? If you’re not willing to put in the hours to do what your job description entails, then how do you expect to handle the workload and succeed in another position at a higher level? Patience is necessary, though the waiting period isn’t the ideal place for anyone to be in, it’s God’s way of preparing us for more. In regards to relationships, or really anything else for that matter, I came across a quote from Stephanie May Wilson which reads; “We’ll never know what God might have for us if we’re too busy fighting for a relationship that isn’t fighting for us right back. Sometimes the best things can happen when we unclench our fists and bravely let them go. Because only then can we receive the better “yes” God is just waiting to give us.”

Don’t Rush Through Your Waiting Period

Though you’re preparing yourself for more, you can’t allow yourself to get ahead of your season. Though it’s inevitable that you will think about the future, you have to allow yourself to leave everything in God’s hands and shift your thoughts back to reality. Face your reality head on and while you wait you cannot just wait. It’s like wanting  to plant a garden. If you want product, if you want to see the fruits of your labor, you have to work. You can’t just sit around and expect things to fall into your lap because God and the universe do not owe anyone anything.

God Will Provide

We also often ask ourselves, our peers, and God why bad things happen to us. We often work ourselves up over things that we know good and well God is going to handle and lead us to the right answer or decision about, and for what? Lack of sleep. We’ve all been there before. Personally I believe that bad things happen because God allows them to so we know that He is in control and He is capable of fixing them.

That’s it for Girl Talk for now. As always follow my social media handles and leave comments below if you feel ever so inclined.

Until Next Time!