Cue The Elevator Music

Have you ever been to an event where you’ve parked on the umpteenth floor of the parking garage, and after it was done, you either had the choice to climb every flight of stairs up to your vehicle or take the elevator?

I spend plenty of time in elevators at the U of M’s Cardiovascular Center, going from here to there, but I can vividly remember one time, just a few months after my surgeries, when we went to a hockey game with the youth group. Parking at sky level wasn’t necessarily our first choice, but it was our only choice. So slowly we weaved our way through the never-ending tunnel of the parking garage that would give anyone seizures from the lights. When we could see the skyline of the city, I knew it would be a long trip back up, so I waited with a few others, for the elevator, after the hockey game was over. And this whole situation went like you are imagining at this moment – the elevator took forever because it had to dump a whole stadium-worth of people off at their respective floors, including us. If I’m honest, I doubt there was any elevator music – I mean who gets that fancy in a parking garage elevator? No way. Okay, so just dream with me. We’d be listening to the music nonstop, breathing down each other’s necks or for me, because I’m a tall drink of water, breathing the toupee off their heads, waiting, and waiting. Until DING!

I can really stink at waiting. Some things I’m okay at waiting for, others, not so much. When Mazy’s voice is starting to get louder and louder in frustration that my Aldi stop isn’t Aldi-fast, or when I see the line at Wal-Mart back to the clothes rack, my waiting skills become famished.

Dan and I have been in several waiting periods in life. Of course the normal rites of passage that are check-marked throughout life, but I’m also talking about waiting for a call about a job, waiting for babies to be born, waiting for the call from the doctor, and waiting really, to see what life holds. Just like everyone else. We ALL have waiting periods. We ALL have moments of elevator music ringing in our ears.

Psalm 69:3 says, “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.”

My friend, did you catch that? Think about every word of this verse – WEARY. CRYING OUT. THROAT PARCHED. EYES GROW DIM. All while waiting. David was clearly perplexed. Okay, more than perplexed. It was more than a mental game, but a body in despair because he was waiting on the Lord for SO LONG! Do you ever feel that way?

You betchya I do! But the older I get (boy, I’m starting to sound like a grandma…), the more I see the treasure and challenge waiting can be. Waiting has taught me that God never goes on vacation. And absolutely it sure feels like He does sometimes. But in the end, there is well, always an end. In some shape or form. God NEVER stops working. God NEVER vacations. God took one day of rest after, wait for it… HE CREATED THE WORLD, and since then He’s been going nonstop. No time off. No break. Just imagine? Just because I’m sitting here, feeling left in the dust, gritting my teeth, doesn’t mean God is sitting back, feet up on the ottoman, chillin’ folks. God’s got His sleeves rolled up and He’s working overtime, JUST ON YOU.

So what happens when we feel like David? When we feel angry? Disappointed? Impatient? Y’all (okay, I’m not from the south, but still one of my favorite words, just like “dude”), LET HIM KNOW IT! Be David! Be YOU! Let it out! Straight up ask God what’s going on? What’s the plan? Ask Him to clue you in! Asking God questions doesn’t make your faith any less – in fact, it makes it MORE. We don’t receive because we don’t ask.

When you feel like the elevator music is on replay, ask God to change YOU, instead of changing your circumstances. This is when your faith will grow and you will find yourself taking a deep breath in the waiting. This is truth, but the truth is hard. I’m right there with ya! With my chronic heart failure issues, it seems inevitable that my heart will ultimately fail me and I will need a transplant. In a way, I sometimes feel like I am just waiting for the moment they say okay, you’re going on the list. BUT. Instead of constantly listening to the elevator music over and over, I’m choosing to get off the waiting elevator and allow God to work in my heart NOW, while I wait. I’m daily challenging myself to ask God the hard questions, but also try and have the faith I need to embrace the circumstances God has give me. And this is a SLOW process for this girl! Nothing quick about this process.

What are you waiting for? What have you waited for? What do you need to be honest to God about? I challenge you to not hold back. Don’t worry, He can handle it. He’s God. Allow Him to change YOU, instead of waiting for Him to change your circumstances.