“The Waiting Season” – Wesley Weatherford, Lead Pastor “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

My family and I recently discovered a movie that was both appropriate for our family and really good! Honestly, I usually find the movies my wife deems appropriate for the boys to be lame. Not this movie, though. It was great and we have since watched it numerous times.

The name of the movie is Twelve. It's about a boy’s experiences during the baseball season when he’s twelve-years-old. Basically, the kid is crazy talented and tries out for the local all-star team. Despite his skills, he is not picked for the team and, like any twelve-year-old, he is devastated. His dad encourages him to spend his time working on drills and hitting, so he can be even better the next season.

The son does just that. He, his dad, and his brother put in the work every day to get him ready for the next season. Of course, in the end, all the hard-work pays off and he is a better player than he would have ever been if he hadn't used his time to better his skill. All of that made me think that this twelve-year-old fictional character has a valuable lesson to teach us. By being denied from the all-star team, he found himself in a waiting season. Waiting for the next baseball season to roll around, affording him another opportunity to play the game he loves.

How many times do we find ourselves in a waiting season? We are almost always waiting for the next thing rather than doing work in our current season. I know I am often guilty of this. I feel like as a visionary leader, I am constantly waiting for the current season to end and waiting for what's next. Although it is something I struggle with, I want to encourage you, as I remind myself, to not let your waiting season be a wasted season.

We all face times of waiting. What we do and how we grow in those times is what determines our future.
If you are in a waiting season right now, I want you to seek to answer these questions:
- How can I learn from this season?
- How can I grow through this season?

As we go through these changing times in life we must recognize that there are joy, blessings and opportunities in each season. Stop wasting the potential of your waiting season.

Father, thank you for Your presence in every season of our life. I know that we do not face anything that takes You by surprise, so God we trust that if You lead us to it, You will lead us through it. I pray that as we stop wasting our seasons, we will instead seek to see Your purpose in it all. Help us Lord to grow through all that we go through.