Living in Limbo

 by Macy Johnson

“The creation waits in eager expectation

for the sons of God to be revealed.”

(Romans 8:19 NIV)

 

I waited for a response from a dear friend. My next move depended on her reply. In resolve, I turned to my husband and said, “Guess I’ll be in limbo for a while.” He tossed back at me, “We live in limbo!”

 

The Cambridge English dictionary defines limbo as “an uncertain situation that you cannot control and in which there is no progress or improvement.” I was committed to a time of waiting.

 

As a retiree, I frequently feel bereft of former, familiar activities. (I often dream of working in an office again, unsuccessfully tackling stressful projects.) Challenges that might come along require my daily routine to be fluid. A damaged roof, a sudden illness, an accident, plants that need to be relocated to another area of the yard or destroyed, or a phone call with a challenging request can press hard against my semi-structured life.

 

Jeff probably didn’t mean for me to take what he said in the way I took it. I heard my husband say, “Life is short and then we will be in heaven!” As I look out my window in the morning I expect Jesus to suddenly appear. Every strange light in the clouds gives me hope that it will happen soon. I must be ready!

 

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.

Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

(1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV)

 

By the way, I received the awaited call and jumped into action. Another fun project completed and many new lessons learned!

 

I will trust God in times of limbo and wait in eager expectation on His perfect guidance and final return. I hope you will, too!