Chapter 20

So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment. Romans 8:25 (TPT)

David

Enduring a season of waiting, has never been featured in anyone’s imaginative reel of future hopes and dreams. Though we are often reminded that God’s timing is perfectly purposed, the experience of waiting can feel draining and test your faith in unthinkable ways.  

My wife and I had discussed our desire to move to a bigger city, long before we were even married. We had family and people we loved in our small town, but the restrictive, and sometimes hostile environment, was not the vision we had for our growing little tribe. We longed to expand our horizons and afford our children broader opportunities and life experiences. 

After praying about our plans and submitting our hearts to God, we felt prompted to get the ball rolling. And so started an unexpectedly long season of waiting….

Since my wife had grown up in Durban, we thought this would be an ideal move for us. A familiar environment and the big city vibe, seemed well suited to our needs. 

We packed up our home and moved in with her dad, for what we thought would be a short while. Our sweet little Raylan was five months old and a bubbling fountain of endless joy. 

Work, accommodation, schools and environment. We prodded and planned, prayed and pushed, but nothing was working out. Obstacle after obstacle, delayed any progress we made and kept knocking us back to the drawing board.  

It is often only with the benefit of hindsight that we can understand why things happen a certain way. After six months of struggling to clear a path forward, my wife sent me some random property listings in Cape Town for no apparent reason. Inexplicably, our minds were set. We were going to Cape Town. We had spent months planning a move to Durban that refused to materialize. However, once we changed our focus, the obstacles dissolved and the path before us lit up with luminous clarity.  

Even now, we can not recall a single conversation, where the possibility of a Cape Town move was discussed or debated. It simply was. One day we were going to Durban and the next, we were headed to Cape Town. 

Needless to say, our family and friends were concerned about the sudden turn of events, but we felt compelled to stay the course. None of the things we had set out to plan for were settled. We didn’t know anything about the city. We had no idea where we would live or what the work environment would hold. Still, there was a sense of urgency that bolstered our faith and inspired us to follow the Holy Spirit as He led us into this unexpected new journey. 

I believe wholeheartedly that the waiting season we endured, served a very important purpose. Tired out and frustrated by the lack of progress we had made, we were ready to lay our own thoughts and plans down in obedience. God's gently whispered prompt, leading us in a completely new direction. I doubt we would have been open to such a significant change of plans, had we not faced the tedious grind first. God had lovingly closed every wrong door we were pursuing and then flung His own gates wide open at the exact right time.

On the 7th of May 2015, we gathered with friends and family to celebrate our baby’s first birthday. It was bitter sweet in so many ways. We had made it through the first year of being parents! There were many hills and valleys, but our hearts were forever marked with the love, joy and peace that comes only from the One that made us and breathed His life into us. We laughed, celebrated life and our precious little Raylan. She had captured everyone so completely and left no soul untouched by her infectious giggle and zest for life. It was a beautiful day.

The very next morning, car loaded to the brim with as much as we could fit, we were on our way. As the small town, where our story began, faded in the rear view mirror, I was flooded with emotion. I reached for my wife’s hand and squeezed it gently. We knew that there was much being said in the silence of those early morning rays that fell across our faces as we drove. There was uncertainty, yet clarity. Surrender, yet victory. An overwhelming awareness that we were exactly where we were supposed to be at that moment. 

Little did we know, just how significant the timing of it all would turn out to be. Seasons of waiting are never easy, but they always prepare our hearts for what is to come. When it seems like you can’t see the Father’s hand in those seasons of your life, simply trust His heart. It always has and always will be, abundantly good.