Waiting on the Lord is not something that comes easily for me. My life is a true testimony of a woman who doesn’t like to wait and who has countless times taken life into her own hands because of an inability to wait.

Patience was certainly not a virtue that I possessed very often. Yet, I’m here today to encourage you to learn to wait…to cultivate patience in your life…to specifically wait on the Lord in regard to your marriage.

Having been married twice, there are many lessons I’ve learned through struggles and difficulties I’ve faced. Yet, one thing remains constant through them all…I tried all too often to handle things myself and do things my way because I couldn’t wait on the Lord.

(Who knew how long He might take?!)

My past choices led me down paths in my marriages that I never dreamed I’d face. As a little girl, relational abuse, pornography, and adultery are not part of the marriage you dream about.

Looking back over the many flawed decisions I made that brought me to those situations (and more), I now can see that I failed to wait on the Lord. Sure, I took time to pray and I even sought counsel at times, but I didn’t stop to be quiet and wait for Him and His direction.

It wasn’t until I was the recipient of marital pain in marriage #2 that I was ready and willing to truly wait on the Lord. God had brought me to a place where I knew that I couldn’t fix my marriage alone, that leaving the marriage wasn’t His will, and that only God had the answers and directions that could save my marriage.

I spent several weeks away from my husband and children. Aside from work, I spent my time alone in prayer, God’s Word, counseling, and reading Christian marriage books. It took God bringing me here, through the darkest personal pain I’d ever faced, but I was finally waiting on the Lord.

During this difficult time I was blessed to have a wonderful mentor; she was a light that God sent to me in the midst of darkness. She consistently pointed me to God and His Word for guidance, strength, and the love that I so desperately needed. Through His Word I was able to receive the direction I needed for marriage’s most difficult situations.

I found reverence and submission to be very hard topics to understand and put into action. Yet, by following God’s Word and the counsel I received from my mentor, I was able to see that even if my husband wasn’t doing what he was supposed to as a husband, I still needed to honor the Lord’s plan for me. My husband’s actions weren’t my responsibility; I was responsible for only myself. God would take care of him.

By God’s grace, my marriage was restored and over the next four years, God has performed a miracle in my marriage. What began nine years ago as a couple living two separate lives in one house has now blossomed into a beautifully messy love between a husband and wife who’ve become best friends.

Those four years of growth were some of the hardest I’ve faced, but it is by God’s grace and love alone that I was able to wait on Him to perform a miracle in my marriage.

I’ve learned that while I truly desire a marriage as God designed, it isn’t by my hand or in my time that it will come about. Instead, I must wait on the Lord to continue to mold and make me the help meet He wants me to be. As I allow Him to change me and trust that He is changing my husband, too, I am able to live life fulfilled in Him and walk each day with my best friend by my side.

There may be struggles up ahead, but knowing the mountains we’ve overcome by God’s grace, I know that as long as I wait on the Lord, trust in His timing, and follow the directions in His Word (no matter how hard they may seem or be) that we can face any obstacle that may lie ahead.

**Please note that if you or your children are in danger that you need to seek help, this is not the type of marriage I’m discussing in this article regarding waiting on the Lord. If you are in need of help in regards to domestic violence (relational abuse) please call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.**

Misty is a Daughter of THE King, Texas girl always, Navy brat at heart, loving Fisherman’s wife, blessed mother of 2, author of Beautiful Ashes and founder of Marriage, Motherhood and Missions and Year Round Homeschooling. She is passionate about being real throughout all of life’s struggles, successes and dreams. Her heart is full of ideas and passions, but the hours in her day never multiply to get it all done. Misty loves writing and reading in her spare time. Music and photography are favorite past times of hers as well. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, G+ and Blog Lovin.

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