Feeling the fog?

Waiting can be so difficult. And the difficulty of waiting can cause us to miss out on the blessing.

In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California. She'd already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and chilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way, her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make it. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn't until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away.

At a news conference the next day she said, "All I could see was the fog. I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it."

How often have we given up just "half a mile away" from the goal?

Fog comes in lots of disguises.

• The fog of relationship struggles can cause us to give up and miss the blessing that is just around the corner ... if you wait.
• The fog of disappointment can make us fear that the "same ol same ol" is about to repeat in our lives ... and we give up.
• The fatigue and frustration of the daily grind can make us give up thinking that life will never change.
• The fog of financial strain can deceive us into giving up on the necessary discipline to get out of the "mess".
• The fog of enjoying our sin, can make us think that the call to holiness and purity just isn't worth it.

The fog can cause you to give up on the blessing that is just around the corner.

I love the message paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:12-13.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.