The Work of Waiting

Two years ago, this weekend, I was in Leidschendam in the Netherlands.

It was late on Sunday evening, the clock was edging towards midnight, as I watched the final moments of General Conference.

And then it came.

President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be built in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Exciting?… That doesn’t quite capture it at all!

Within seconds, my phone lit up. Messages poured in from friends all over the world…

It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

And now… two years have passed.

And we’re still waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

No site announced (yet) and no visible progress (at least to me).

Just… 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.

In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust.

But recently I’ve found myself wondering… what am I doing with the waiting?

Because the truth is, so much of life – and discipleship – is lived in that space.

Not in the announcement.

Not in the completion.

But in the quiet, in-between.

The preparation space.

The Lord has always worked this way.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Stillness is not inactivity.

Waiting is not wasted.

It can be a season of becoming and exercising faith in the Lord’s timing.

A time to prepare hearts, homes, and habits.

A time to deepen faith, not just anticipate blessings.

I have learned that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we learn that God’s blessings come according to His divine timetable, not ours.

So, for now, we wait and we 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆.

Perhaps the question is not: When will the temple come?

But rather: Who am I becoming while I wait?

And maybe even… Will I be ready when it does?