Waiting for a Placement

"I hate wait."

~Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Inigo Montoya at the top of the Cliffs of Insanity

Application submitted, interview completed, letters sent, I now am waiting to be placed in Europe. Most likely, I will be in French speaking Europe, so either France, Belgium, or Switzerland. I will probably hear by mid-January simply because right now is the holiday season and everyone is in and out on vacations. But I am realizing, once again, just how impatient a person I am. Like Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, I hate wait.

In the story, Inigo, an expert swordsman, is left at the tops of the Cliffs of Insanity and given very strict instructions. He is told to wait for the Man in Black to make his way to the top and then Inigo is to kill him so that the Man in Black cannot continue following their party. The Man in Black is in a very precarious position, clinging to the cliff and climbing by hand since the rope has been cut. It will probably take him hours to reach the top, by which time he will be weakened from the climb.  Inigo has no patience for that. "I hate wait," he says. Eventually, he offers to help the Man in Black reach the top of the cliffs so they can begin their fight right away.

Throughout the Bible, there are so many examples of God making people wait. Abraham waited for a son, Joseph spent some waiting years in prison, Joshua waited in the desert, even Esther spends years in beauty treatments, and Israel waited for years for their promised Messiah.  Clearly, waiting is something that God builds into a journey because it is an important step. I think God puts us in certain scenarios to see what we will do with our wait. Will we wait patiently like Joseph, gaining favor and recognition? Or will we be impatient like Abraham, doubting that God has a plan?  

Perhaps, like Inigo, we will even invite our troubles to join us. We rush our time of waiting convinced that if we just start doing something we will end our time of trial. And yet, the Man in Black ends up leaving Inigo unconscious in the dust with Inigo's mission uncompleted. I wonder how many times we miss out on blessings because we are convinced that waited time is wasted time. 

So, despite my impatient nature, I am trying to embrace my time of waiting. I am trying to see it as just another important step on my journey. I am praying for God to reveal to me what He would have me do with my wait.

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have we wait for it patiently." ~Romans 8:24-5

The Interview

"...a date which will live in infamy."

~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

After turning in my application a few days early, (I submitted it on November 26, the Monday after Thanksgiving) I received a date for my interview: December 7th. There was some confusion over setting up the actual time for the interview because of working around my work hours. It was at last settled for 4pm that Friday and I left work early in order to make it home in time. In the event, I was extremely rushed to make it on time and stressed. I made it to my computer and had Skype up by about 4:05 and a couple minutes after that my interview began.

I can't even really remember all the questions that were asked but I remember just being nervous and trying to answer clearly. When an hour and a half later the interview was over, I was emotionally drained. All of the adrenaline that had me keyed up was leaking away leaving me feeling tired and doubtful. I took a hot shower and tried not to overthink my responses, tried not to worry, tried to just wait patiently. Fortunately, the staff coordinators didn't make me wait long. Four hours after the interview, I received an email inviting me to join IV Link staff. I am prospective staff until I am accepted for a placement, attend orientation in June, and raise my support.

In my journal the next day I wrote: It's such an awesome feeling to have a plan for the future, and even if that changes, just knowing that God has really blessed my efforts in pursuing ministry. It was also great to go to choir practice the morning after and be able to tell people what was happening.  My friend also had her interview the same day as me and was accepted on staff too. What an amazing blessing to be able to take this journey together! InterVarsity staff, here we come!