The Waiting is Over... Again

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!   Ps.27:14

I looked at the expiration date on the small can of tomato sauce – January, 2013. That snapped me back to the reality that we are living in a new series of timetables. The tomatoes would expire before Richard’s first term of disability. The waiting was over. The anticipated disability notification letter arrived yesterday with all of the time frames laid out for us for up to four years.

To qualify for disability support the first two years, Richard must be unable to perform at the capacity to fill his most recent post. The next two years will require that he try working at any profession in which he has the ability.  With any job, disability will supplement his pay up to his former pay scale. After four years he will be moved on to early retirement with the state for a fraction of the price they pay for disability. 

Over the past months I had collected verses on a little bookmark in my Bible.  The verse at the top of this entry was the first one, and it was so very appropriate for the days until now. Whenever I risked despairing I would recite that verse to get re-centered.  Now that we know some time restraints and just what our financial resources will be, it seems to be time to move on to the next verse which happens to be –

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!   Ps. 30:10

When I would give a child a challenging task I would often have the child appear at my elbow with the complaint that so-and-so sibling was not helping with the task.  My retort was always, “How can he be helping you if you are not working? Get back to work to show your sibling what obedience looks like. Then he might just be inspired to help.”  When I saw the child return to work I could then deliver an inspirational speech to the idle sibling to pitch in to help, and we would all live happily ever after. 

The one called on to help could not help when the caller was not working. It seems our Heavenly Father may have that advice for us now as we search out His will, His work and His plan.