Hurry Up and Wait

Today is the first day of September 2026.

One year ago, at the beginning of September 2025, I sat down with my calendar and prayerfully made a list of all the projects that I needed to accomplish in the following 2 months. I knew that I would be entering a busy season from November through April when I wouldn’t be able to work on these projects, so I set aside the months of September and October to focus fully on these 5 or 6 priority projects: several major legal issues (each involving multiple steps that involve notaries and lawyers), completing a few literature translation projects (coordinating with translators, editors and layout designers), resolving some issues regarding finances (relying on regional, field, district, and local treasurers), and some other district leadership projects (requiring communication with pastors, DAB members and regional/field leadership).

My "office" on most days

The day after making my list, I got to work on Project #1. It had been a while since I’d been able to work on it, so I returned to my emails to see where I had left off. The last email on the subject was me writing to someone in early August, reminding them that I was still waiting for them to reply to my July email. So…I sent them another follow-up email and moved on to Project #2. For this one, I was waiting for a reply to my July email, in which I referenced that I was still waiting for a reply to my February email. This happened again and again as I worked through my list of projects. As it turns out, I couldn’t move forward on any of my priority projects because I was waiting on key information from other people. So, I wrote follow-up emails to all of them…and waited.

A few days went by. I had several other projects that I could have begun, but they are much lower priority – and once started, each one would take a lot of time to finish. (And once started, they really need my full attention until completion.) Knowing that I have a tendency to start too many projects at once, I had intentionally limited myself to these 5 or 6 priority projects for the months of September and October. I didn’t want to be in the middle of a low-priority project when I receive the key information I’ve been waiting on for a high-priority project. So, I waited.

A few weeks went by. I wrote yet another follow-up email, this time worded a bit more urgently to express that I’m still waiting on this. The email I received in return basically said, “You need to keep waiting. And you’re not being helpful by being so impatient.” OK. I’ll keep waiting.

I usually have too much work to do, but this was a season when I had time, but nothing constructive to do. I started to doubt my abilities as a leader, as it seemed that no one was following or replying to my messages. I started to question my friendships, as even friends stopped responding to invitations I had sent. As the weeks went by (and turned into months), these growing feelings of discouragement were amplified by the regular challenges of living in another culture. (You may be familiar with culture shock – the shock of entering a new culture – but you may be less familiar with culture stress – the long-term stress of living in another culture.) Even the smallest challenge started to seem like a giant obstacle. I started to consider resigning, since it felt like no one was taking me seriously.

Long-term culture stress often involves the aspects
of cross-cultural life that are difficult to see.

With so much time on my hands, I found small tasks to complete. I also read a lot. And, of course, I kept waiting.

I had hoped to complete all (or at least most) of these priority projects by the end of October. Instead, not a single one of them progressed one iota. The only thing that had changed was I was incredibly frustrated and discouraged.

Visited a fortress with a friend in October

Then November came: the Eurasia Regional Conference in Albania, followed by the Romania District Assembly, followed by a trip to visit family in the US for Thanksgiving (the cheapest plane tickets I’ve EVER found to the US!). When I returned to Romania, Christmas was just around the corner. After Christmas break, I had a 2-week window at the beginning of January to work on these priority projects from September. But those 2 weeks passed and still no replies. I couldn’t move forward on any of these projects.

At the end of January, I attended the EuNC faculty assembly in Hungary. February would be busy: spending a week in Bucharest for NCM meetings, while devoting the rest of the month to preparing my deputation message and the travel logistics for my 7-week home assignment in the US, which would start at the beginning of March. (I actually ended up getting sick and spent at least a few days of February in bed.)

During December & January I took care of someone else's cat

While I was at the EuNC faculty assembly, I received a reply to an e-mail I had sent in September about one of the priority projects. Then another, and another. Within 48 hours, I received multiple e-mails from different parts of the world about nearly all the projects. And nearly all of them were worded in such a way to say that now that I have this information from them, I need to hurry and do my part so we can advance to the next step. Well, sorry. I had time in September and October. I had time in January. Now, I don’t have time until May at the earliest to even think about any of these projects.

After returning from home assignment, I went to the Central Europe Field Pastors' Retreat in Croatia for the first few days of May. The rest of month of May had a lot going on. By the end of the month, I was able to start on a few of those projects. I’ve made a little progress on them in June, July, and August, but there have been other priorities demanding my attention throughout the summer months.

So now, a year after I set those priorities for September and October 2025, I have those exact same priorities for the months of September and October of this year.

Bought some new houseplants

When I look at the past year, there aren’t any notable accomplishments that stand out – at least not in the traditional sense of projects completed or goals met. And yet I wouldn’t trade this year for a more “productive” year. Once I got past that initial frustration and discouragement from the fall months, I realized that all of that free time – when no one returned my emails and friends were too busy – was actually time that I don’t usually have to just be with God. Extended time to read a couple dozen books and to listen to podcasts and to pray and to journal and to reflect on what God is doing on the Romania District, but more importantly, in my own life. He’s shown me areas where I need to grow and areas where I need to be grateful for what He has done and is doing. So, rather than focusing on what I have  (or haven't) done or accomplished this past year, I can join with the hymn writer in confessing: “Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say / It is well, it is well, with my soul.”