Waiting Patiently on The Lord

Written by Guest Writer: Leah Kuhn

Surprise! It’s not Hannah. It’s her little sister, Leah!

Before you read anything I have to say, let me give you a little background about me. If you know Hannah, think shorter, crazier, louder, and that’s pretty much me. I’m a new college graduate, so I’m fresh off the best and craziest four years of my life.

College was spending the mundane parts of the day with my best friends, filling the day's gaps with makeshift adventure, and traveling any chance I got. I love to be everywhere with everyone at all times, so college was my dream come true.

But, it wasn’t always that way! A little bump in the road called COVID threw my whole college experience off-course during spring break of my freshman year.

You know the tale, I went home for a week, which became two weeks, which became the rest of the semester. Before I knew it I was packing up my dorm and doing school online at home. I attended a private college, and when online classes became the norm, a lot of my peers opted to do online school at a university in their home states to save a pretty penny.

Unfortunately for me, this happened to be the case for most of the friends I had made and I fell out of touch with a lot of people.

To say I was distraught and confused could not even begin to sum up the way I felt.

In my loneliness, I didn’t have another choice but to turn to the Lord. It sounds dramatic, but I really didn't have anyone else. I thought about all the people I knew who had college roommates stand up in their weddings, all of my mom's college friends whom I called “auntie." I made peace with the Lord that as much as I wanted those things for myself, He didn’t have them planned for my college experience.

It’s funny to think about how low I felt in those days because I was just so clueless about the joys ahead. The years that followed brought me blessings and friendships that I can’t even begin to summarize. I know this sounds so cliche, but it’s just the truth.

Other important details about me: I’m highly logical and a self-described “realist.” So, you can imagine that this makes the whole concept of faith pretty difficult for me at times. It’s something I have had to work at every day for 23 years, and I imagine I will have to keep working at it every day for the rest of my life.

Dealing with the COVID era my freshman year really tested my faith, it left me in the

position of being alone and simply waiting on the Lord to move. Funnily enough, I have been back in a season of isolated waiting since May.

Just before graduating I felt compelled in ways I can’t really explain that I was not meant to stay in my college town to start my post-grad life. I followed that intuition, believing it was the Holy Spirit, and have been back at home waiting for what’s next ever since.

Some days are more challenging than others, and some have been really challenging. But, on the days when I feel confused about what’s ahead or angry at myself for what I left behind, I remember where I was my freshman year.

Our God is a God of precedence. He takes us through difficult times to give us tangible evidence of His love and His trustworthiness. I say all this to encourage you to reflect back on the difficult times the Lord has led you through and to lean into whatever you may be facing now. He is willing, He is able, and He is for you! He has been and He will be, forevermore!

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they

help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and

character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” Romans 5:3-4