This past weekend was a time of reflection. I guess death does that. It draws you to review that person’s life and highlights their achievements above their failures, unless all they sowed was a fiasco of disappointments.
My friend’s dad was an exemplary patriarch who reminded me so much of my own father. He left a legacy that most men would envy and wish for. Death forces us to face our mortality and it brings us to a place of soul analysis where you start questioning “What am I doing with my time here? How am I spending it? What legacy am I forging”?
When I finally quieted down inside, God showed me that there are instances where we waste so much time waiting idly, when we should be waiting in forward motion.
Life’s choices require us to go with the correct timing.
However, we have become an impatient society because everything we are offered happens in the now. All the comforts and conveniences with today’s technology have conditioned us to maintain a fast and unhealthy pace. This environment will either propel you to burn your candles on both ends, thus burning you out; or frustrate you to the point of doing absolutely nothing…also known as giving up.
Waiting is part of life whether we like it or not. I am guilty of being impatient. I want it now and at times will even throw a tantrum. Of course, hindsight will always show me my immaturity and the cost that my impatience has incurred. Sometimes those same tantrums will cause me to throw in the towel during the waiting. I dig in my heels and say “No more. I am not going to move forward. I’m just going to sit here and just let life pass me by”. But who am I really hurting? Oddly enough, I’m sure you can relate we start to sound like the pouting-five year old who menacingly says, “I’ll show them. I’ll just sit here in my closet and ignore them.” Or perhaps even sound like the rebellious teenager, “I’ll show them. I’ll run away.”
You’ll often hear me refer to this as running while standing still. It’s when inside you’re running away from anything and everything, shutting down the things you don’t want to face or feel like you can’t handle. You fool yourself in thinking that it’ll resolve itself or go away as you wait idly.
Waiting idly is the most powerful and detrimental stance you can take and enforce upon yourself. This giving up of the hands is what causes people to become homeless, remain jobless, stay in abusive relationships, enables them to continue drinking or taking drugs, drives them to alienation or suicide, and maintains every unhealthy emotional hold in their lives. This state of immobility will rob you, cheat you, and kill everything that holds your potential for happiness, progress and success.
We fool ourselves in believing that we’re not idle because we’re focused on everything that needs our immediate attention and even handle it pretty well. However, sooner or later that one thing or things that you have been avoiding will creep up on you and zap you right where it hurts.
So what is waiting in forward motion?
It means exactly that…doing while waiting. There are just certain things you can’t have right now. You have to wait. Some times it’s because it’s not available. Other times it’s because you’re not ready. And of course, there are just certain things that you should not have and the beauty of waiting is what reveals that, right?
It’s not enough to believe while waiting. You have to do while believing. You believe you deserve a nicer and bigger house and there is nothing wrong with that. The question is, what are you doing while waiting to get that bigger house?
Forward motion while waiting requires an action from you. Let’s face it; there are a lot of things in our lives that just won’t get resolved over night. Moving forward will some times require us to:
My friend’s dad was an exemplary patriarch who reminded me so much of my own father. He left a legacy that most men would envy and wish for. Death forces us to face our mortality and it brings us to a place of soul analysis where you start questioning “What am I doing with my time here? How am I spending it? What legacy am I forging”?When I finally quieted down inside, God showed me that there are instances where we waste so much time waiting idly, when we should be waiting in forward motion.
Life’s choices require us to go with the correct timing.
However, we have become an impatient society because everything we are offered happens in the now. All the comforts and conveniences with today’s technology have conditioned us to maintain a fast and unhealthy pace. This environment will either propel you to burn your candles on both ends, thus burning you out; or frustrate you to the point of doing absolutely nothing…also known as giving up.
Waiting is part of life whether we like it or not. I am guilty of being impatient. I want it now and at times will even throw a tantrum. Of course, hindsight will always show me my immaturity and the cost that my impatience has incurred. Sometimes those same tantrums will cause me to throw in the towel during the waiting. I dig in my heels and say “No more. I am not going to move forward. I’m just going to sit here and just let life pass me by”. But who am I really hurting? Oddly enough, I’m sure you can relate we start to sound like the pouting-five year old who menacingly says, “I’ll show them. I’ll just sit here in my closet and ignore them.” Or perhaps even sound like the rebellious teenager, “I’ll show them. I’ll run away.”
You’ll often hear me refer to this as running while standing still. It’s when inside you’re running away from anything and everything, shutting down the things you don’t want to face or feel like you can’t handle. You fool yourself in thinking that it’ll resolve itself or go away as you wait idly.
Waiting idly is the most powerful and detrimental stance you can take and enforce upon yourself. This giving up of the hands is what causes people to become homeless, remain jobless, stay in abusive relationships, enables them to continue drinking or taking drugs, drives them to alienation or suicide, and maintains every unhealthy emotional hold in their lives. This state of immobility will rob you, cheat you, and kill everything that holds your potential for happiness, progress and success.
We fool ourselves in believing that we’re not idle because we’re focused on everything that needs our immediate attention and even handle it pretty well. However, sooner or later that one thing or things that you have been avoiding will creep up on you and zap you right where it hurts.
So what is waiting in forward motion?
It means exactly that…doing while waiting. There are just certain things you can’t have right now. You have to wait. Some times it’s because it’s not available. Other times it’s because you’re not ready. And of course, there are just certain things that you should not have and the beauty of waiting is what reveals that, right?
It’s not enough to believe while waiting. You have to do while believing. You believe you deserve a nicer and bigger house and there is nothing wrong with that. The question is, what are you doing while waiting to get that bigger house?
Forward motion while waiting requires an action from you. Let’s face it; there are a lot of things in our lives that just won’t get resolved over night. Moving forward will some times require us to:
- Forgive and let go. Forgiveness frees us because as long as we hold a grudge, the person that wronged us keeps control over our lives.
- Voice our hurts. No one is a mind reader and you can’t fix what you don’t voice or acknowledge.
- Get help. There are just certain things we can’t get out of by ourselves.
- Find accountability. At times we require someone to keep us accountable be it for a weakness or goal.
- Face it. Stop ignoring the issue. Whatever the mistake or issue is know that you are human and we all have a God that says you have another chance. It’s your choice to accept that chance or not.
- Set a plan. If you don’t see your vision or dream before you, it’s hard to remain consistent even after failure.
Oma Gertrude said to me yesterday as she looked intently into my eyes, “Don’t let a moment slip you by. Once that moment is gone you cannot get it back. It’s gone forever.”
How many idle moments have slipped by us in the busyness of avoidance? Life is not about work or how much good we do. It’s about living life with purpose and in doing so you and I impart the gift we possess thus enriching everyone around us. The legacy of that enrichment only remains when we make it a point to move forward in any circumstance including and most importantly in the waiting to get there.
How many idle moments have slipped by us in the busyness of avoidance? Life is not about work or how much good we do. It’s about living life with purpose and in doing so you and I impart the gift we possess thus enriching everyone around us. The legacy of that enrichment only remains when we make it a point to move forward in any circumstance including and most importantly in the waiting to get there.
In memory of Opa Gerhardt Voggel Sr. whose life inspired this piece, and in
honor of a man whose legacy will continue through his children.
