More from Valerie Bryant Bennett

I wrote this devotional during a very difficult time, and that time has not ended. A situation needs to be resolved, and I am still waiting on God. As time has worn on, I think I have become even more convinced of the lesson I learned from the hummingbird. God will answer my cries for relief when the time is right. There is no lack of resources or love on God’s part. Until then, I have learned to live with uncertainty . . . a skill I was not interested in learning. I do not like loose ends. I crave homeostasis, the situation in which interdependent things exist in balance. So God has seen fit to help me cope with circumstances that defy everything that is “me.”

Since the time is not right for resolution right now, God has given me other things (perhaps to pleasantly distract me!) that I didn’t expect. First, I was led to visit a church where I so completely fit in, where there were times the music or message would almost move me to tears of joy. I was received warmly by its members and found myself almost immediately in a small group Bible study as well as the pastor’s Bible study. I will join the church this week and continue this new journey. Secondly, I finally gave up my part-time teaching jobs (I retired years ago but kept working) and discovered the joys of writing regularly, tending a big vegetable garden, and spending time with my grown daughter.

But the greatest gift of all during this difficult time has been something I would never have expected. A man and his wife (whom I know from church) own a thousand-acre farm with cattle, sheep, and horses. I mentioned to him that I would be happy to come out and help do anything they needed because I love horses and being outdoors. For the past three months, I’ve groomed horses, prepared carriages for groups and parties, helped with newborn fillies, and even rounded up sheep! I never thought getting dirty, hot, and tired could be so much fun.

God has not answered my prayers for resolution during the past two years because God knows best. But while I wait, God is showing me an incredible love in filling my life with unexpected joys. I feel God’s presence every morning early when I meet with him, and God is closer than my breath through each blessed day. I will gladly wait on God’s answer to my problem.