Wanting Beauty for Ashes, I Waited on God to Set the Stage for My Prince

I wanted splendor for ashes (see Isaiah 61:1-3), but I hate ready. Our instantaneous, excessive-speed, in a single-day-outcomes lifestyle, has truly performed a function in this. We get impatient, waiting one minute for the microwave! But I have had some extra-lengthy waits in my existence that would have sent me into despair had it not been for God’s love.

As a baby, I turned into certainly more patient than I am now. I never felt beautiful, but I suppose I clung to The Ugly Duckling story. I wore glasses, turned into a chunk overweight, and had bad hair. I even idea my lips had been too huge. I could look in the mirror and practice maintaining them. It became hard to do that and keep it in my stomach concurrently. When I began sporting makeup, I might cowl my lips with the basis and draw them smaller with lipstick. I become just anticipating the morning I’d awaken a swan.

By the time I became a youngster, I had become a Christian. After I was a child at a Vacation Bible School session, a storytelling artist drew a massive image with massive pastel sticks. It becomes a stunning scene, but he drew a huge, unpleasant, black squiggle in the center of it, reputedly ruining the photo.

Beauty

This becomes where he defined how sin ruined paradise and ruined our lives. But then, the use of beautiful colorations, he brought more, transforming the black squiggle right into a gorgeous tree that turned into the highlight of the whole image. He informed us how God not best forgives our sin through His Son Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. However, he additionally redeems it, causing new growth that makes our lives even more beautiful. I understood and believed the gospel (the REAL beauty for ashes story!) at that point, but it would be a while earlier than I realized all that God gave me once I believed.

While I waited to end up beautiful, I went to work on my character by pursuing my love of musical theatre. Only princesses can have the funds to be shy, so I studied song, drama, and dance in excessive college and college. It turned into certainly more rewarding than ready around to be asked out on a date. After my mother died after I turned 19, I drifted away from the church. The theatrical scene appeared to fill the void.

I began landing a few leading roles in the network and semi-professional theatre businesses, and the applause from audiences became like a drug to my affection-starved coronary heart. Unfortunately, this additionally led me to put out with drinkers and partiers. Without being in fellowship with other believers, I turned too vulnerable to influence my theatrical/birthday party friends, and they ended up affecting me for a time. I even started out hatching a plan to transport to New York for a stab at Broadway. I worked clerical jobs to save up money.

By the time I hit my 20s, I had slimmed down, gotten touch lenses, and had an occasional excellent hair day. But apparently, I changed into nevertheless a ways from beautiful. My relationship’s existence becomes nearly non-existent. Even though the biological clock became no longer a problem, it turned pretty irritating. Most of my dates have been via personal ads or because some guy changed into inspired with my karaoke performance at a yuppie bar.

When I did cross on a date, usually there was now not the 2nd one. The few times I had a boyfriend, it continually both ended or grew to become platonic within approximately three weeks. Starved for affection, I might behave too eagerly and scare the fellow off. I never got here anywhere NEAR getting married. As I approached 30, this started to upset me more. Rejection after rejection eroded my vanity to close to zero. I am waiting to be loved. And waiting. And waiting.

My desire to marry grew robust as I approached 40. The biological clock is ticking me off! I bounced to and fro between two extremes. Either I tried too hard to manufacture relationships, or I sat lower back and waited for God to drop Prince Charming on my doorstep. I became pretty frustrated with God for making me wait so long.

The feelings got here to a head sooner or later on a solo bicycle ride when I was given a flat tire. I became about two miles from home, and the best manner to get again changed into carrying my bicycle and stroll. A passing bicycle owner offered to permit me to use his cell smartphone. I have no idea; it’s not like I have a boyfriend or husband I can call, so I declined. It became getting darker, and the mosquitoes had been descending like vultures. I changed into sure the muggers could quickly be popping out, so I thanked the man and continued sporting my bike.

Passers-by means just checked me out like I had something growing out of my forehead. Probably a mosquito bite! I plodded onward, praying for safety, energy, and enough daytime. By the time it became dark, I had become again in my neighborhood. I was thankful to be secure, but as my exhaustion started to hit me, I complained to God, crying about my loss of a spouse.

I trudged alongside my motorbike, bouncing towards my hip and tears streaming down my face. I advised Him if I had been only married or even courting, there might be someone to help me. At least I might have had someone to name. I was uninterested in being sturdy on my own and usually having to do everything by myself. I pleaded to my very own schedule: Why did I wait to see you later? I arrived home exhausted and disillusioned, having forgotten how God had been with me, and spoke back my prayer on the motorbike path.

Here’s the kicker. All those things I turned into anticipating, I already had! From the very moment I had believed that God sent His best Son, Jesus Christ, to earth as a human who died for my sins and became resurrected, I had everlasting lifestyles. I additionally had a courting with God. However, God began anticipating ME to return closer.

God gave me splendor for ashes inside the satisfactory manner by running it out from the inner. God gave me faultless love. On that bike journey, God had been my protector, my power, and even my healer (the mosquito chunk went away!). He also becomes my provider, has already given me a house, a lawn complete of plants, roommates, finances — all matters I’d once expected to gain handiest upon marrying.

As I made little steps of obedience, God labored big modifications in my lifestyle. God constrained me from transferring to New York, which quickly led me to a large church track ministry activity. That ended up developing and refining my talents and training (both clerical and creative/creative) in ways I may want to by no means have imagined. All of that organized me for what I’m doing now in my paintings with two on-line ministries: Kids Talk About God and Faith Profiles, which had been founded through my husband.

Yes, “husband.” quickly leadinghrase now. I did finally get married – at age 42! He is an exceptional Christian who surely thinks I’m stunning – due to the fact he sees me via God’s eyes. God’s love is the quality, and He sincerely knows what is great for me. So now I can say that I’m SO happy God made me wait!

Do you feel stuck? Is there something you are waiting for? However, it by no means appears to take place? Talk to God about it. Ask him to both screens a course of action to you, or give you a deep peace over wherein you are now. Then, live tuned in to God via reading the Bible (his love letter to us!), praying, and spending time with mature Christians. God wants a relationship with you, and it’s the maximum critical one anyone will ever have. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to make the manner for this too. Occur. He did this because he loves you!

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Spent a year testing the market for sock monkeys in Naples, FL. My current pet project is donating robotic shrimp in Hanford, CA. Spent several months getting my feet wet with weed whackers worldwide. Spent 2001-2006 training shaving cream in Hanford, CA. Crossed the country lecturing about bathtub gin in West Palm Beach, FL. Spent 2001-2007 implementing licorice with no outside help.