You’ve probably imagined the job, the spouse, the kids—and you knew what age you wanted it all to happen. However, all too often such plans go up in smoke, and you may feel confused and forgotten when reality doesn’t match your expectations. When life doesn’t go as you planned, can you still trust that God knows how to write the best stories? Instead of taking the pen to your own story, author Lauren Walton suggests refocusing on your Creator.

After spending years frustrated because life wasn’t going according to her plans, Lauren decided to give up control. It was then she learned God’s graciousness wasn’t based on getting what she wanted and that God’s perfect plan included an unexpected season. She wrote The Wait Will Not Be Wasted to help other single women during times of unfulfilled hopes. Lauren shares how self-reflection, journaling, and practical experience have led her to find deep fulfilment and a God-given purpose while she waits. It is her hope that her journey will help others see God’s goodness even during the most difficult times.

Though directed at single women, the concepts apply to any woman waiting for God to move in her life.

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About the Author of The Wait Will Not Be Wasted

Lauren Walton is a native Floridian who now calls Nashville home. She loves travelling, dancing, staying active with her church community, and cheering on her Auburn University Tigers. Lauren’s faith has carried her through some tough times, and it is now her life goal to help others see God’s goodness even during the most difficult times.

More from Lauren

All I have ever wanted was to be a wife and a mom. In the life I had always imagined there were no other options. But then college came and went, moving to a new city and finding my first job came and went. And so many other milestones came and went, including my 35^th birthday. As the years kept passing, I found myself still waiting. My heart felt confused and forgotten. I didn’t understand why God would give me this desire and then withhold it from me.

About eight years ago a friend wrote a verse in my journal. I loved it at the time but didn’t realize it would become my anthem in the future. She wrote Psalm 94:17, which says, “Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence”. I can’t tell you how many times I almost settled in silence but turns out God had other plans for me.

Many times I started to wonder if God really was the good God I had always thought He was. I grew up in church and had been taught from a young age to believe God was good no matter what. But as the wait got longer and longer He didn’t seem to be very good. At that point, I started questioning so many things as I felt my faith beginning to crack. I was terrified of what I might find if I dug into the pain so I pushed it aside, or at least tried to. Then, I began to believe the lie that having doubts would make me a horrible Christian so I kept silent. I was so afraid to ask the tough questions and was afraid of what those questions might say about me. Ignoring those concerns ended up being a breeding ground for all my doubts, which eventually led me to make decisions I normally would never have made. I lost sight of God’s goodness and found myself solely focusing on what I didn’t have… a husband and a family. This was a season filled with sadness and so much bitterness. I was so over being single and so frustrated with the way my life had turned out. But somewhere in the middle of all that hurt, and despite all my mistakes, God still came for me. He started teaching me all over again who He was as my Father. And how much He loved me.

As I started walking towards healing, I began to ask God the really hard questions my heart couldn’t make sense of, and I believe He started to answer me. So I started to write it all down. I kept a running note on my phone and I always felt like the things God was showing me and encouraging me with were not just for me. If God had me still waiting, there must be a reason and I was determined to figure out what that was. I eventually took the next step and went away for the weekend to write. I found the perfect Airbnb treehouse and 7 chapters came spilling out.

At that point it became very clear this book needed to be written and I felt very strongly it needed to be written now… while I am still waiting and not when I am on the other side of my singleness. It’s my hope this will cause other women to lean into what I am saying, or better yet what God has to say. I believe these are His words and not mine anyway.

The Wait will not be Wasted is my “yes” to the Lord and my thank you for how far He has brought me. It’s my whole heart in written form, and the story of my victories and struggles while walking through my singleness. It’s not pretty or cleaned up version of my story. It was very purposely written that way so we could all take a deep breath and know it’s okay, that it’s hard and it’s okay to make mistakes. I know I’ve made plenty.

I’m praying as women read these words they will discover this life is never going to be void of the hard but there is a very real and very big God who is bigger than anything we go through. I hope together we can begin to see our singleness through a new filter, as we began to shift our attention and see things more from God’s perspective instead of our own. Knowing this doesn’t mean the wait will all of a sudden be easier. But also seeing even through the pain there is a purpose to this season. And God is working all of it together for our good.

He’s always making sure not one minute of our pain is wasted.

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deb’s Book Review, May 3

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