How to Embrace the Delay of Your Dreams

By Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo

Have you noticed that our society has turned instant gratification from a luxury into a right?

After all, we should have what we want, when we want it. Period. Right?

We deserve it!

But for moms, now isn’t always in our — or our families’ — best interests. When we have a dream in our heart and ambitions that we want to pursue, we often gain so much insight, growth, and character when we surrender to God’s timing and embrace the delay.

Embrace the delay?

Ugh. Those are not easy words to hear. Believe us, we know. We’ve both experienced long gaps between the time God put a dream in our hearts and the time He (finally!) fulfilled it. However, we have also found that the rewards are also probably more sweet than if we had pursued them in our own timing.

Take heart … waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing.

We can be active as we wait for God to fulfill His future plans and purposes for us.

Here’s a few ways we can put the waiting to work:

1. Be faithful as we wait.

God is paying close attention to how we’re handling the wait: “Whoever can be trusted with very little, can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). While there are many reasons why God may delay a dream, one reason He may make us wait is because we’re not making good use of the opportunities and responsibilities He’s already given us. Those experiences are the “training ground” for more challenging blessings He wants to give us.

As a young mom, I (Kathy) didn’t feel like diapering and laundering for four small children was doing anything “significant.” It certainly didn’t feel like I was moving closer to my dream of writing one day. But with every pile of towels and soccer clothes, I was being faithful and investing in my children.

I now use that same discipline in the opportunities that God has placed before me now that my kids are older. (I’m still doing laundry, although my piles are smaller than they used to be!)

2. Learn as much as possible while you wait.

When I (Melinda) was a mom to little ones, I couldn’t stop everything and write a book and launch a speaking tour. But I could write a magazine article or a church newsletter. I could lead a small Bible Study.

My skills and knowledge grew with these small steps. They also helped to keep alive my dream of one day being an author and speaker. Attending writing conferences — both online and in person — were another way I kept learning and growing in my craft.

3. Realize that you don’t own the watch … God does.

Over the years, we’ve both tried to speed up God’s clock. We went chasing opportunities even though the time wasn’t right. We knew better, but we were tired of waiting for “someday.” Without fail, these ventures “fizzled,” but usually not before our families paid a price.

Years after God placed within our hearts the desire to be authors, He brought us together. We both shared the dream of mentoring and encouraging struggling moms like us. His timing was so much more enriching to us and our families that our own.

Yes, waiting is hard. But the fulfillment of our dreams in God’s time is sweet.

God’s plan, purpose and timing of your dream will be perfect. We promise. We’re living proof.

What are the “little” ways God is calling you to be faithful?

How can you learn and prepare for your dream in small ways?

Win a Copy of Mothering From Scratch

This article is based on Melinda and Kathy’s new book Mothering From Scratch: Finding the Best Parenting Style that Works for You and Your Family. It is available on from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Christian Book Distributors, as well as bookstores nationwide. We have one copy to giveaway here. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for your chance to win this helpful, encouraging read!

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About Melinda and Kathy

Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo blog together over at Mothering From Scratch where their mission is to encourage and support mothers to find their unique mothering style. They both live in Southwest Florida with their husbands and kids. Melinda’s two and Kathy’s four have provided much humility in motherhood for both of them. Thankfully, they both depend on Jesus to carry them through the journey.