pray. wait. trust.

This sweet gift was the inspiration behind
this post and serves as a constant
reminder.

Life has a funny way of making you wait.

But is it really life that's making you wait or is it God trying to teach you something?

God has a funny way of proving that the waiting is all worth it. 

Six months ago I was making myself over-anxious about decisions that I had no control over and that weren't even relevant at that point in time. I was pushing far too hard. I knew that I needed to sit and wait and that it would all work out when it needed to. However, my flesh didn't want to let go. It wanted final decisions. It wanted action. But it still wasn't the right time. 

So, I had to take a pause. I had to take a step back and focus on the things that I could control and wait for the rest. 

What's the biggest thing that I can control?

My PRAYERS.

God hears us when we talk to Him. He hears our concerns. He hears our desires. He knows our hearts, more so than we could ever imagine or begin to understand. He also knows the best timing. Rather than worrying my fleshly brain about things out of my control, I needed to be taking those things to the Lord. He's the one that directs our steps. 

Not only does God hear our prayers, He answers them. Sometimes His answer is to wait. 

Because he's a ray of sunshine.

Buy WHYYYYY??? That's what this Type-A, super-organized, advanced planning girl wants to know and asks often.

Because God said so. It's an exercise of TRUST. He's knows better than us. There's a reason we can't get what we want right now or even know what's going to happen. We have to trust Him. His plan is so much better than what we think that we need or want. 

So, we WAIT. Do we just forget all about it in the waiting? Not necessarily. I made it a goal that whenever I thought about said things, that I would turn it into a prayer and hand it right back over to God. It sounds hard, but it's not...it's discipling yourself to turn your thoughts into prayers.

Am I perfect at it? Not by a long shot. Is it a constant battle of me re-handing things over to God because my flesh got all fleshy again? For sure. It's about making an effort.

Because do you want to know the beautiful part about all the praying and waiting and trusting?

GOD WORKS IT ALL OUT.
In HIS time.

All of those things that I was worried about? They came up naturally in conversation last week because those things are starting to become more relevant. Plus, because it's in the right timing, it doesn't bring the anxiety that it did before. I can actually enjoy the process instead of being so worked up about it.

Friends, let go.

I know it's become somewhat cliché to say, "Let go, let God" but it's so TRUE.

Give it all up. Hand it over. Sit in the peace. Enjoy the moment.

PRAY.
WAIT.
TRUST.

It's worth it in the end.

Love,
Caitlin

Celebrated one year with this one in November.
I prayed, waited, and trusted for God to reveal him. 

It's been a while since a "Normal for me, but not for you..."
*Taking bucket showers (literally bathing by dumping cups of water on yourself like your mom did for you when you were a kid) because your house has a plumbing and/or electrical (probably both) problem that can't seemed to get resolved...on the bright side some of those bucket showers were warm water. ((That's a win!))
*Wearing jeans all day and not being cold despite the fact that it's still 80 degrees. (It's winter people...and you really do adjust to it. I FROZE at home in November.)

Love my family! Glad I got to spend time with them over Thanksgiving. 

Chloe and Jude grew crystals for a science experiment.

Thank you to those who spent time at my open houses with me in November.
Special thanks to those that have supported my time in Haiti financially and through prayer.

I still have Haitian goodies available for sale.
Email me at caitlin@hopecphaiti.org for more information and pricing. 

In case you missed it, click here to check out my last blog post Red & Yellow, Black & White.