Patience.

"Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience - waiting, and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking."
— Gary Paulsen (Hatchet)

Gary Paulsen is one of the young adult authors that I admire most. I most deeply admire the way the he is able to speak to both young adults and adults. He speaks to us on completely different levels through the stories that he weaves. When I read this quote from his novel, Hatchet, it resonated with me to the core.

I am not a person who enjoys being still for more than an hour or so. There is nothing that I find more interesting or satisfying that a full day of meaningful work. And yet here I find myself with a significant amount of time as I am still waiting to hear the final go ahead on my work visa. God is teaching me what it truly means to be still. To wait. To trust that in His time, He will be faithful.

Running has been tangible way for me to trust in God's strength. We've been getting into an intense amount of distance each week. While daunting, I can see that through perseverance, diligence and prayer, we can do this. Last night, as we finished our 15 mile run, we ended with sprinting. Jeff commented on the amount of energy I had throughout the run. (Which was very different from our last long run.) He said that as we were finishing up, he looked over at me and couldn't stop smiling. He said that he thought, God must be carrying Natasha right now.

This comment made me realize, yes, God was carrying me. And He still is, throughout this whole work visa uncertainty, our engagement, and this marathon training. I am continuing to see the way that God is working in these weeks and I am so thankful to be learning what it means to wait, to be patient, to let God carry me throughout all of these changes and challenges.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging...
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress...He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46, select verses.