Finding Joy While Waiting
Written by Safy Jacob
May all who search for YOU be filled with joy and gladness in YOU.
Ps 70:4a
God of infinite time,
Teach me to wait.
I want to measure time with YOUR heart
To process it all through the lens of eternity
To walk in the way of YOUR truth
To notice the life around me.
Our daughter, Marie Jane Jacob, was born in the summer of 1968. Nagy and I were filled with joy that lasted for a few hours. The doctor let us know that our precious baby girl turned blue. She was born with a two-chamber heart, and had a very short life on this earth. Just three days.
Everyone kept telling me to be patient. Wait on the Lord for the next time. Next time you will have a healthy baby. Well, waiting with patience was not easy.
Life went on with me trying to figure out how I could find the joy that I was brought up to find in every circumstance. How could I measure the three days of Marie Jane's life?
During the Advent season of 1968, the Lord taught me to measure time with HIS heart. I had to process it with the lens of eternity. Well, it was certainly the best Advent season for me.
Even though I was filled with confusion, I intentionally asked the Lord to show me how to help others going through the same pain. Wow! That was a dangerous prayer!
My neighbor, Cynthia, gave birth to a baby boy named James. He had no limbs. I thought, Lord, this is tragic! With my fleshly eyes and heart, it felt very hard to deal with, but I reached out to Cynthia who desperately needed comfort and did not know how or where to get it. I asked her to go through an Advent devotional with me. Surprise! She said, “Yes!” You guessed it, Cynthia opened her heart and received Jesus as her Lord.
James had many complications. He lived for five months and went to be one more angel in Heaven.
Christmas of 1968 would not have been filled with joy and gladness if I did not search for HIM to help me reach out and help another. Since then, I have been speaking God’s truth, especially finding JOY and gladness in HIM during every circumstance.
PRAY, my dear family of GOD,
To practice being grateful
To intentionally find JOY
Throughout your day.
Teach me to wait.
I want to measure time with YOUR heart
To process it all through the lens of eternity
To walk in the way of YOUR truth
To notice the life around me.
Our daughter, Marie Jane Jacob, was born in the summer of 1968. Nagy and I were filled with joy that lasted for a few hours. The doctor let us know that our precious baby girl turned blue. She was born with a two-chamber heart, and had a very short life on this earth. Just three days.
Everyone kept telling me to be patient. Wait on the Lord for the next time. Next time you will have a healthy baby. Well, waiting with patience was not easy.
Life went on with me trying to figure out how I could find the joy that I was brought up to find in every circumstance. How could I measure the three days of Marie Jane's life?
During the Advent season of 1968, the Lord taught me to measure time with HIS heart. I had to process it with the lens of eternity. Well, it was certainly the best Advent season for me.
Even though I was filled with confusion, I intentionally asked the Lord to show me how to help others going through the same pain. Wow! That was a dangerous prayer!
My neighbor, Cynthia, gave birth to a baby boy named James. He had no limbs. I thought, Lord, this is tragic! With my fleshly eyes and heart, it felt very hard to deal with, but I reached out to Cynthia who desperately needed comfort and did not know how or where to get it. I asked her to go through an Advent devotional with me. Surprise! She said, “Yes!” You guessed it, Cynthia opened her heart and received Jesus as her Lord.
James had many complications. He lived for five months and went to be one more angel in Heaven.
Christmas of 1968 would not have been filled with joy and gladness if I did not search for HIM to help me reach out and help another. Since then, I have been speaking God’s truth, especially finding JOY and gladness in HIM during every circumstance.
PRAY, my dear family of GOD,
To practice being grateful
To intentionally find JOY
Throughout your day.
Reflective Question for the Day
How do you intentionally find joy throughout your day?
Safy Jacob loves to spend her early mornings at sunrise speaking out loud to Jesus. She started doing this when she became a widow. Her three grandkids are the source of her JOY. Serving God globally has been her life since she retired as a hospital pharmacist. Growing up with a hardworking single mom, Safy learned that meaningful Christmas gifts are the best (until the grandkids arrived). She writes short poems to express her feelings toward the ones she loves and the Lord.