Monday, August 11, 2008

Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about waiting for God's time...

Rachel is a homeschooling mom of 11 great kids who writes for Catholic Exchange,Heart, Mind, and Strength, as well as others...she will be my guest blogger while I am out of town...sit back and enjoy her this week...feel free to leave comments and I will get them to her!!!

This is an article that Rachel wrote awhile ago for Catholic Exchange:

Learning to Wait Well

Our three year old does not like the word ‘wait’. She dislikes the word more than even a quick ‘No’. She will display her displeasure with a pout on a good day and a stomp of the foot and shout on a bad day. So, I have adapted my reply to ‘Yes, after I have….finished this phone call, gone to the bathroom, etc..’ or ‘Yes, after you….finish your chore, pick up your toys, etc.’ If I answer her with those words she will happily, most of the time, skip off until those tasks are completed.
I, on the other hand, as an adult wait very well. RIGHT!
I am now at week 36+ of my 15th pregnancy, expecting my 11th child on earth. I have discovered, much to my displeasure and embarrassment, that I am a very poor ‘wait-er’. I am pouting, shouting (in my heart) and whining more than my 3 yr. old ever does. Now, to rationalize a bit about my challenge in waiting, I have only gone to term with one of my children. I am physically disposed to going early and, as such, received medical intervention to prevent early labor/delivery with this baby. Well, the medicine has worked wonders and I have now reached a point in my pregnancy I have not reached for over 8 years!!! Seriously. The last time I went past 36 weeks was 5 babies ago. Therefore, in my mind I am late, overdue and miserable.
So, I am not waiting well and have been telling God that over and over again. Each morning when I awake, still pregnant, I rub my sore muscles, get the forklift over to raise my whale-like body out of my bed and hope my feet land in a proper position to support my frame (not really, but it feels like that!).
Recently God decided to have a good talking to me. He didn’t appear in my room but did take over a recent prayer time to give me a bit of perspective on waiting. My waiting, with such a good ending, is small and minor in comparison to other types of waiting. For example, we have our own Greg and Lisa with a 2 year plus waiting for Lily, there are the many readers/listeners to HMS who have been waiting for resolutions to infertility, marriage problems, financial concerns, chronic illness and spiritual struggles. And throughout our faith history, we have witnesses to waiting including Monica and her rascally son Ignatius to the first, and most important waiting ever done was the entire nation of Israel – waiting and waiting and waiting for a Messiah.
My waiting pales in comparison to all of this. Therefore, until our newest baby arrives I will try my best to wait with a better attitude and realize that God is answering me just as I answer my three year old – “Yes, Rachel, you will get a new baby. When the time is perfect.”

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