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Waiting for God before you leap

Jane Walters reminds us that we sometimes need to await God’s timing before leaping headfirst into what might seem a good idea at the time.

The event had been planned for several months. I’m a fair-weather coast visitor and too many Saturdays had had threats of rain or wind or chill. Subsequently, it was very nearly Easter before my friend and I had our New Year walk at Southwold.
 
In words that would come back to bite me, I pointed to a large area of grass near the car-park. ‘Is that meadow?’ I asked, ‘or marsh?’ (In my memory, I include ‘solid’ when pointing to the “meadow” but that may be a distortion.) The reply came back, ‘Meadow’ and my friend suggested we walked across it to the town. Three people in the distance clearly had the same idea and we set out with thoughts of coffee.
 
‘I wonder what they’ve lost,’ remarked my friend, nodding towards the little group who seemed to be staring at the ground. ‘No idea,’ I said, not caring. I should have.
 
muddy socks 333ATAs we walked, the ground proved soft, spongy, water-logged. Marshy, in fact. As we neared the others, it was evident that the only thing they were looking for was a safe way through the bog. The parents had managed to cross it but the teenaged daughter was hesitant, panicky. I still wasn’t particularly fazed. Hadn’t I successfully negotiated far worse on a walking holiday in 2017? Surely, the modus operandi there still applied?
 
I should interrupt the narrative here with a relevant detail: I wasn’t wearing walking boots but my rather glorious red, light-up-heels-so-useful-when-cycling trainers. It was a detail I momentarily forgot as I launched myself into the air in an attempt to “stop faffing and just go for it”.
 
The leap itself was exhilarating for a split-second. It was followed by a landing which was, I admit, considerably deeper than anticipated. The forward thrust hurtled me on, minus one trainer I realised as my socked foot registered wet/cold/squishy. Too late, I was already up and off again, repeating the sorry episode, only worse. Having arrived at the other side, a glance backwards showed my trainers looking like an art installation – the second one bearing a resemblance to a ship about to submerge.
 
I made the only response possible: I laughed and laughed, as did my audience, while my friend was standing baffled, saying, ‘I was looking for a safe place for you; why didn’t you just wait?’
 
It goes to show that while waiting isn’t fun, sometimes it’s wise. I wonder if our heavenly Father is left metaphorically scratching His head as we sometimes leap into disaster. How grateful I am that He can clean us up and set us on solid ground once more. And I’m pretty sure He joined in with the laughter…
 
The top picture by ?? ? on pixabay.com. The other picture above shows the outcome of Jane’s expedition, and is courtesy of Jane herself.


Jane Walters 175Jane Walters, formerly Clamp, is the author of Too Soon, a mother’s journey through miscarriage (SPCK) and a regular contributor to Premier Radio and UCB. She is also vice-chair of the Association of Christian Writers. Jane leads creative writing retreats and is a popular speaker locally and further afield. Visit: janewyattwalters.com
 

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