Painting And Waiting

He makes everything beautiful in its time. - Ecclesiastes 3:11

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who enjoys waiting. In fact, if you’re reading this and you actually like to wait, please be my friend and teach me your ways, because I absolutely hate waiting. It’s uncomfortable. It’s confusing. It’s aggravating. And it often seems pointless at the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as simple as waiting for coffee in the Starbucks drive-thru or something as important as marriage. Waiting sucks.

But a few years ago, I had a huge perspective change on patience thanks to my friend Noelle. She’s one of the coolest, trendiest, and artsiest (that’s a word right?) people you’ll ever meet. Being the hipster that she is, one of her favorite things to do in her spare time is paint. Back when we were coworkers, every time she created a new piece, she would bring it to work and show it to me. I remember this one particular day, she brought in this piece that, to this day, is my favorite thing she’s ever painted.

The page is covered in pretty oranges, pinks and yellows, mimicking a summer sunset. And overtop of all the colors, she quotes part of Ecclesiastes 3:11, which says,“He makes everything beautiful in its time."

As beautiful as this painting turned out to be, the story behind it is what struck me the most.

When Noelle first started to paint this piece, she didn’t like it. It wasn’t turning out how she wanted it to look. It was taking longer to finish than she expected. And in the midst of painting it, her hand started cramping. She became so frustrated that she got up and walked away. At once point, she even contemplated throwing it in the trash and giving up. But after about an hour, she came back to the piece and she finished it.

After she completed the painting, she told me that she sat there thinking about how creating this painting gave her such an accurate picture of the process of waiting.

Sometimes your life may not look exactly like you thought it would. Maybe certain things take longer than you expected them to. And maybe you have to endure some painful circumstances along the way. But thankfully, there is a God who promises to make everything beautiful in its time.

He never promises that life will be a breeze. He never promises that patience will be easy to come by. And He never promises that we will get exactly what we ask Him for. But He does promise to work all things together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

So what about you? Is waiting difficult for you? Is it painful? Time consuming? Frustrating? Trust me. I get it. But I want to encourage you. Next time you get annoyed with waiting. Think about Noelle. Think about her painting. And think about Ecclesiastes 3:11. Because while I can’t guarantee that you’ll get everything you’re waiting on, I can promise that His promise is something worth waiting for.