Don't Wait: Do

This conversation went on in my head this morning

"Good things come to those who wait"

Really?

Well yeah, you decided to wait for Alyssa and be patient with her and now you're engaged!

Ok, but that was a lot more than just sitting and waiting.

Well you just kept doing all the same things except for pressuring her into a decision.

Exactly.  I wasn't just waiting, I was doing all that I could to help her come to the decision herself, all the while reigning in my desire to move faster in favor of her needs and wants.

True... but you still just ended up waiting.

Not at all.  This was a very active process that required enormous amounts of faith and patience on my part.  I'm not sure I believe that quote to be true.  Waiting doesn't really get us anywhere.  Doing does.  Believing does.  Trusting does.  Waiting is passive.  The others are active.  We aren't meant to be passive, to be acted upon, we are active beings who influence circumstance instead of being influenced by them. 

Well that's true, I guess.  Waiting is more just the passage of time than anything.  [I enter an office with Isaiah 40:31 hung up on the wall].

See?  That's exactly what I'm talking about.  Waiting on the Lord isn't just letting time go by and then all of a sudden you renew your strength and mount up with wings as eagles.  The waiting that it says here is more than just the passage of time.  It is believing that God has a plan for each of us, trusting that whatever happens is a part of that plan, and doing all that we can to live in accordance with His will.  That's the kind of "waiting" that will bring good things to people.

Ok, that makes more sense.  So what about [names of two loved ones] who are struggling right now?  What can you do?

I wish I knew.  I want to help so badly, but my range of influence on either of them is pretty limited.

Well maybe you could apply this whole waiting lesson.  Maybe there isn't much you can do, but you can always take care of yourself and love them both as much as possible.  After that, you just believe that things will work out and trust in God's plan.

That's not a bad idea.  It changed Alyssa's heart, maybe it'll change theirs.

There you go.  You just make sure you're doing what you can for Alyssa and for them, and the Lord will do the rest.  Remember that quote that Pres. Monson gave?  "Do your duty, that is best, leave unto the Lord the rest."

Right.  That's how I've gotten where I am now, and I can't say I'm disappointed with that.  Perhaps a little more waiting will begin to have an effect.  I'll trust in the Lord and His plan for them either way, though.  If He wills it, they'll get better.  If not, then there's something important to be learned from the experience.

That's the spirit!  Now get back to work, you're already behind schedule.  [end of conversation]

I'm not schizophrenic, I promise, but I like to talk things out, and when I'm alone, I have to do it with myself.

In the midst of a very emotionally bipolar weekend, that scripture told me what I needed to hear this morning.  Between becoming engaged, my future sister-in-law having a baby, and falling so much more in love with Alyssa and realizing we may barely scrape by, having more problems with those two loved ones (one more than the other, but still...), and just wondering if I'm good enough to make this all work out, I found solace in the hope that:

"They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

That's a better quote than the first one anyway