Later You Will Understand

Planning the 2017 Moms in the Making conference was a lot of work. We wanted to make sure that each girl who attended felt so loved and special and to do so, it took months and months of preparation, including paying attention to every little detail. Each person who wanted to attend the conference was instructed to fill out a form to register and another form if they were going to choose to stay at the hotel for the weekend. The form was long and had many questions. And I spent month after month reminding people day after day that we needed them to fill out all the information correctly.

The Lord spoke to me through this process.

I assumed along the way that my constant reminders, which I am sure seemed like nagging, were quite annoying. Day after day, “Are you staying in the hotel? If so, you have one week left to fill out the form” or “Did you sign up for a breakthrough session yet? Last day to sign up.”

There were many reasons we needed all the details we were asking for. And although my constant reminders were annoying and although filling out the form took time, what these ladies didn’t understand was that there was a bigger picture. 

We knew that if they didn’t use the correct spelling of their name, include their city/state or include their instagram handle, their nametag wouldn’t be complete. And we knew that if they didn’t check the box listing that they were staying at the hotel then they wouldn’t receive a welcome hotel bag when they checked-in including a personalized note from myself and a bag full of goodies. And we knew that if they didn’t write out their full infertility story then we wouldn’t be able to consider them for the Renew Her award; an award given to one attendee who journeyed hard but decided to keep the faith and declare “it is well” in the middle of her storm. And we knew if they didn’t let us know what breakthrough sessions they wanted to attend then there might not be a chair for them when they got there. And we knew that if they didn’t tell us they were going to the after-party, then the three masseuses who came to give massages might not have enough time to give them a massage too. And we knew that if they didn’t tell us they had to leave the conference early, they wouldn’t receive their gift of faith at the end.

None of the 160 attendees knew any of these facts. They didn’t know what we were planning. They didn’t know why the forms were so important. They didn’t know all the details we were working on behind-the-scenes, for months leading up to the conference.

“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7

And isn’t this the same thing in our relationship with God?

“You do not realize now what I am doing.”

How many times does God ask you to do something you don’t want to do? How many times does he take you down a road that you have no interest in walking down? How many times does he ask you to take a step of faith when it makes you really uncomfortable?

It might feel like nagging. It might be annoying. It might be frustrating. It might be time-consuming.

“But later you will understand.”

I can assure you that one day you will understand. God doesn’t ask you to do things to waste your time. He’s not trying to tease or torture you. He doesn’t want to embarrass you or make you do pointless work. But everything he has called you to do is part of a bigger picture. What might seem like circles to you is actually purposeful to him. What might seem like pointless work is actually furthering the kingdom. What might seem frustrating is actually part of his plan. What might feel like a long wait is actually him being right on time.

“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

What work is God doing in you now that seems pointless? Has he asked you to do something that has been frustrating?

PS. If you are going through infertility, please head over to join a faith-based support group I founded, Moms in the Making!

PPS. Have you picked up a copy of my book? Buy In Due Time, a 60-day devotional for hope + encouragement in the waiting.

PPPS. I created a group on facebook as an extension of my book + blog to discuss anything + everything. Women only! Come join us!

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