He sat on the edge of the chair and I knew he needed to talk.

An amazing young man in our lives and one of our oldest son’s best friends.

He’s played basketball his whole life and at the top of his game until this year. With his head down and shoulders slumped, he talked about the time he’s been on the bench and how painful and humbling it has been.

My heart broke for him because I know all too well about the bench. When we aren’t at the beginning of something, but not anywhere near where we want to be. No longer in Egypt, but not in our promised land.

Whether it’s a career we are dreaming about, a thriving marriage we are longing for, financial stability, or (enter your issue here), we long for that place of promise.

And the bench feels so disheartening and our dreams so far away.

As a writer I’m acquiring some splinters in my rear.  I have friends way farther down the road than me with books and blogs exploding. And so of course I compare myself at times, (which accomplishes nothing) and if you’re in a season of waiting, I’m sure you can relate.

Though it doesn’t always feel good, the cool thing I’m learning in this place between Egypt and the promised land is– this is where we grow the most and see what we’re really made of.

So, the way I see it is we have two choices while we wait:

Turn the bench into a desk, become a student and learn.

Or

 get discouraged and quit. 

Galatians 6:9 says: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Friend- if you are discouraged in your waiting, don’t give up, your harvest is coming!

And while we wait, may we be students, praying and asking the Lord to teach us right where we are. May we study others who have what we want, may we be teachable and ask questions.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers (a book on success) shares that research shows it takes 10,000 hours of practice to reach the “magic number of greatness” in whatever it is we are working towards.

We’re going to need some grit aren’t we? There’s no other way around this than hard work, putting in our time and then trusting God will bring the results.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1 And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Psalm 90:17.

Quitting is not an option my friend.

So, may we be willing to plant our butts in the chair, pull out our ink pens, sit up straight, and be ready to learn.

Because greatness is waiting.

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