I haven’t posted a blog in a while, and it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. I think I was just waiting. Waiting until I had some downtime, and when everything else in my life was going perfectly well. Not that things aren’t going well (they are), but sometimes I think I get in that headspace where I just say, eh I’ll wait until this or wait for that. That got me thinking, I think a lot of being in your 20s is about waiting. At least it has been for me.

You’re waiting to turn 21, waiting to graduate college and get in the real world, waiting to move out of your first apartment into something better, waiting to meet your husband, waiting until you can get a dog or your dream car or waiting until you can pay off your credit card debt, waiting until Friday night, waiting to go on that trip until you save a little more money, waiting to settle down until you get married, and then waiting once you’re married until your ready to have kids, waiting to break up with your boyfriend until he does something stupid again, waiting to quit your job until you are certain you have something better lined up, waiting to move away until everyone else starts leaving. I think waiting in your 20s is kind of inevitable because nobody is exactly where they want to end up. There is a lot to wait for in a short span of time, and a lot worth waiting for. 

Waiting for the next thing can be scary, but what I have learned so far, and what I am trying to navigate through right now, is that there are a few different options while you are waiting. You can just keep waiting, always thinking about what comes next – but what you aren’t ready to do. This kind of waiting can get you into trouble. It’s the kind of waiting that makes you miss what is happening around you. You can start to build up resentment for what you have currently, and this resentment can sometimes cause rash decisions to make an impulsive change. Those impulsive changes are probably not what you were waiting for in the first place, it’s just a placeholder to get you out of the rut you put yourself in. This is what I call the ~Longing For and Taking No Action Plan~.

This plan really is not ideal. If there is something you want so badly and you can’t stop thinking about it, and if you know something is missing in your life that will make it 10x better, I say do something about it. Don’t just sit there thinking about it and therefore resenting where you are now, take action. Take action thoughtfully and through prayer, not impulsively. Or, you can just sit and wait without taking action. But, where would that get you? 

I think you can be waiting while also being happy in your current phase of life. Just because you are waiting for something to change at some point in the future, but you aren’t ready for that change or you aren’t sure how you will get there, doesn’t mean you have to be completely stagnant where you are either. God has you in the season that you are in for a reason. He is not the type of God that creates seasons in your life lightly. So, moving forward, just know that even if you are waiting for that next step in your life, God has you where you are because He has a plan. He wants you to grow where you are. God doesn’t want you to just be stagnant, sitting there, thinking about what’s next while you are not doing anything in between. He won’t just plop you in that next phase of life you have been waiting so long for without your participation in His plan. He wants you to grow as a person, push yourself, learn things, meet new people, make changes that make you happy, do new things, and make new friends where you are. His timing is perfect, and He wants you to be where you are now, so that He can get you to where He eventually wants you when you are ready. 

So, with all that being said, waiting is an interesting game. Yes, you are most likely waiting in some way, shape, or form for something in your life to change. It could be a small thing or a life changing thing or something in between. And, I don’t think it is a bad thing at all to be waiting. I think, in a way, it’s a good thing – it means you have goals, plans, and dreams. It can also be a dangerous thing. It can cause resentment for where you are. It can cause you to be stagnant and it can cause the misconception that you don’t have to do that now, or work on that now – you can do it once you get to where you are going.

But then there is the in between, which is where I am trying to be. I want to be in a period of waiting where I look forward to what’s ahead. I want to always be willing to reevaluate what is going on around me, where I am, and what I can do to improve my life. But, I also don’t want to be in a state of worry or fear that I need to get to that next step as soon as possible. I want to trust God, the seasons He creates for me, and that His plans and timing are better than mine. And, while I am trusting, I always want to be growing. It’s a lot to think about all at once, but I believe waiting well is the first step to get you where you want to go.

I have been waiting to get my own dog since I left my three puppies for college. And I can confidently say I am so glad I waited until last month to do it. I didn’t know at 20 how much had to happen for me to be in the perfect spot i’m in now for my new pup, but it was worth the wait. Waiting can be uncomfortable and go against our nature especially because God’s timing is not always our timing. But, what you do while you are waiting, and how you spend your time in the in between will get you where God wants you to go without you even realizing you made it to the point that you were previously waiting for. 

🤎 Caroline