Stuck in a Holding Pattern

Just before I got married, I had the awesome opportunity to go on a missions trip to the country of Albania. We boarded a plane that had a connection that would eventually get us to the JFK airport in New York City, then on to Rome. Needless to say, that is not how our flight schedule ended up. For some reason, I think maybe weather, we ended up circling the Pittsburgh airport with dozens of other planes waiting to land. Our plane was put into a holding pattern for so long we were running low on fuel and were redirected to land at a little airstrip somewhere in the mountains of West Virgina. I am not sure a plane of our size had ever landed or taken off from here before. When we took off, it seemed like we ran out of air strip before the wheels left the ground, right off the side of a mountain. We now had more fuel and were ready to take our place back in the holding pattern, circling the sky above. Life sometimes gives us holding patterns, places where we seem to be stuck or just for the life of us we can not figure out how to move forward. We may find a period of relief when we stop for gas, but we know it is just temporary. It will not be long before we get tossed back out into the "going no where" place again. I feel like my life has been like this lately. Like a CD player that gets stuck playing the same song. I go to the Lord daily with the same pleas for stability and usefulness. I am waiting for my break in the clouds, for my promise of worth. Friend, if you are in this place with me, stay strong. We must wait on the Lord. He is my life sustainer, my rock, my fortress, my hope and my provider. Draw strength from the children of Israel. They may have wondered forty years in the desert, but God provided for them. They were fed manna (food from heaven) and the Bible says that their clothes and shoes did not get old or worn out during this time. (What!?! No new shoes or clothes for forty years? Now those were hard times!!) I am so thankful for what God has provided for us during our wilderness journey.

Deuteronomy 8:4 "Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years."
Psalm 27:13,14 "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage; and He shall strengthen your heart: wait I say, on the Lord!"