Learning to Trust God When the Waiting Begins

Scripture Focus

“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” — Hebrews 10:23

Twenty-seven days.

That’s what the calendar reminded me this morning.

I stood in my dining room with a cup of coffee and looked across a table that has barely looked like a dining room for months. Instead, it has become a place where love has quietly taken shape.

The wooden window frame is painted with delicate olive branches. Only a few final touch-ups remain. The table cards need to be reprinted and attached, and I have one small section of the Cricut lettering to replace. The glass card box is finished; its hand-painted olive leaves are complete, and the white Cricut lettering carefully applied. The handfasting cord has been braided, and the sunflower seed packets are stacked neatly, ready to be shared with family and friends.

The ceremony is finalized.

Now I’m writing my speech as Christopher’s mother.

For the first time since we began planning this wedding, I realized there wasn’t much left to do.

That unexpected thought stopped me in my tracks.

When the Lists Grow Short

For months, every day began with another project.

Paint another olive leaf.

Cut another piece of vinyl.

Tie another knot.

Fill another sunflower seed packet.

Check another name.

Every completed task brought the wedding one step closer, and without realizing it, I had started measuring time by what was left to finish.

Now the lists are growing shorter.

Soon there won’t be another project waiting for me on the dining room table.

There will simply be waiting.

I’ve discovered that waiting stretches my faith in ways busyness never does.

Preparing Is the Easy Part

As long as there was another project to complete, I knew exactly what to do.

My hands stayed busy.

My mind stayed occupied.

There was always another detail that needed my attention.

Waiting is different.

Waiting asks me to trust God with the things I have never been able to control.

I can’t promise perfect weather on the wedding day.

I can’t make every detail unfold exactly as we’ve imagined.

I can’t protect Christopher and Sarah from every disappointment life may one day bring.

As a mother, that’s hard to admit.

Every parent wants to keep their child safe.

But loving our children has never meant holding on to them.

Sometimes love means placing them into God’s hands and trusting Him to lead where we no longer can.

God Was Preparing More Than a Wedding

As I looked around the table, I realized something I hadn’t seen before.

I thought I had spent months preparing for a wedding.

God had spent months preparing my heart.

Every evening I painted another olive leaf, He was teaching me patience.

Every knot woven into the handfasting cord reminded me that strong marriages aren’t built in one beautiful ceremony. They’re built one faithful choice at a time.

Every sunflower seed packet reminded me that the smallest acts of love often grow into blessings we may never fully see.

The projects on my table were changing.

So was I.

God wasn’t just helping me create beautiful things for one special day.

He was gently reminding me that His greatest work is always happening inside us.

The Speech I’m Finding Hard to Write

Of everything left on my list, one task has surprised me the most.

Writing my speech.

It’s not because I don’t know what to say.

It’s because I’m trying to fit a lifetime of memories into just a few minutes.

As I sit at my computer, I find myself smiling at moments I haven’t thought about in years. Some make me laugh. Others bring tears before I’ve even finished writing the sentence.

How do you thank God for the privilege of watching your child grow into the person He created them to be?

How do you put into words the pride, gratitude, and love that have been building over a lifetime?

The more I write, the more I realize the speech isn’t really about finding the perfect words.

It’s about speaking from a grateful heart.

Perhaps that’s true of our prayers as well.

God has never asked us to come to Him with polished words or perfect sentences.

He simply invites us to come with honest hearts.

As I’ve been writing this speech, I’ve realized that love isn’t measured by how eloquently we speak.

It’s revealed in the life we’ve shared, the memories we’ve made, and the faithfulness we’ve witnessed along the way.

Waiting Looks Different for All of Us

Your waiting may not involve a wedding.

Perhaps you’re waiting for healing.

For test results.

For a job.

For a relationship to be restored.

For an answer to a prayer you’ve whispered so many times you’ve almost stopped expecting one.

The circumstances may be different.

But the invitation is the same.

Can we trust God while we wait?

Can we believe He is still working even when our hands have very little left to do?

Waiting is never wasted when it is placed into God’s hands.

The Real Work Continues

Twenty-seven days from now, the painted frame will welcome guests.

The glass card box will hold cards filled with love and encouragement.

The handfasting cord will become part of promises spoken before God, family, and friends.

The sunflower seed packets will leave my table and hopefully bloom in gardens I may never see.

Eventually, my dining room will become a dining room again.

But I pray I never forget what God has taught me here.

The greatest work wasn’t painting a frame.

It wasn’t decorating a card box.

It wasn’t tying a handfasting cord.

It wasn’t filling sunflower seed packets.

The greatest work was learning that there comes a time when faithful preparation gives way to faithful trust.

The work on my table is almost finished.

God’s work in my heart is not.

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Reflection

What have you been trying to carry that was never yours to hold?

What would change if today you released that burden into God’s hands and trusted Him with what comes next?

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Journaling Prompts

• What season of waiting am I in right now?
• Have I been keeping myself busy because I’m afraid of trusting God with the outcome?
• Where have I already seen God preparing my heart while I was focused on preparing my circumstances?
• What is one burden I need to place into God’s hands today?
• How has God proven His faithfulness to me in previous seasons of waiting?

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Key Notes for Daily Living

• Preparation has its season, but trust has one too.
• God often does His deepest work while we are quietly serving.
• Waiting is not wasted when it is surrendered to Christ.
• We cannot control tomorrow, but we can choose to trust the One who already holds it.
• Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is stop striving and rest in God’s promises.

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Call to Connect

Are you in a season where the work is done, but the waiting feels difficult?

I’d love to pray with you.

Share your thoughts in the comments below or connect with me through Healing Journey with Christ. Your story may be the encouragement someone else needs today.

If this devotional encouraged you, consider sharing it with someone who is carrying a burden they were never meant to carry alone. Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer is a reminder that God is faithful, even in the waiting.

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Closing Prayer

Father,

Thank You for meeting me in the ordinary moments of life. Thank You for every lesson hidden within the work of my hands and every reminder that Your timing is always perfect.

As I enter this season of waiting, help me loosen my grip on the things I cannot control and place them confidently into Your hands. When I become anxious about what lies ahead, remind me that You have already gone before me.

Thank You for preparing more than a wedding over these past months. Thank You for preparing my heart.

Teach me to trust You not only when my hands are busy, but also when they become still. Help me remember that even when my work is finished, Yours never is.

May I walk into each new day with confidence, knowing that the same faithful God who guided every brushstroke, every knot, every prayer, and every act of preparation will continue to guide Christopher and Sarah long after the wedding day has passed.

And may that same faithfulness carry each one of us through every season of waiting until we see Your promises fulfilled.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.