I’ve always loved the book Oh, The Places You’ll Go! It’s not often that a children’s book is so poignant, timeless, and relevant through many seasons of life. I have revisited this book many times and have gifted it to people in times of transition or new chapters. In all of the silliness, rhythm, and rhyming, it is so good. So, as we end one chapter in our lives, I have been thinking about excerpts from this book…specifically The Waiting Place. If you’re not familiar with it, here it is…
The Waiting Place
By Dr. Suess
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
or a plane to go or the mail to come,
or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
And I am definitely in The Waiting Place.
My only knock on the way The Waiting Place is portrayed is that it sounds pretty bleak. It sounds like waiting will be boring, trying, and difficult. It sounds like waiting will be inactive, without purpose, and just a filler between the exciting bits of life. It’s the time it takes to turn a page before the story can continue.
While I will admit to being a bit on the impatient side of the spectrum, there are circumstances when I really enjoy waiting and times when I have recognized it as an important time of growth, rest, and stillness. It can be that quiet anticipation at the height of a roller coaster, right before it speeds down a slope. It can be hitting the pause button in an intense movie just to take a minute to relax and breathe. It can be taking in the view after a long uphill hike. Waiting can be purposeful, fulfilling, restful, and even enjoyable.
One thing I enjoy about flying (which is tolerable at best these days), is the time of waiting in the airport before boarding the flight. I even like to get to the airport just a little bit earlier than necessary so I have more waiting time to sit. I put on my headphones, read a book, take notes, draw, and sometimes work on writing. I take the time to get a special travel snack and refill my water bottle (that had to be emptied at security.) I find the waiting to be unexpectedly enjoyable and I’m almost disappointed when my boarding number is called.
When the boys were very little, I remember anything that got me out of the house by myself was a treat. Going to the dentist? A treat. People would apologize for the wait and I would tell them to take their time. I’m sitting quietly in a chair without anyone needing a snack or a diaper change and I am relishing it. Take all day. I’ll wait.
When Jeff and I were looking at this time of transition, this time in The Waiting Place, we were looking at it initially as something we had to slog through. We’ll be waiting for a job offer, to buy a house, to enroll the boys in school, and to get settled. Waiting for big life events! We approached it as, Boy, that is really going to stink. And we were praying for that waiting time to be short or even non-existent. But, as we were nearing the end of the packing and moving, we both started to anticipate the quiet and stillness of The Waiting Place.
We all brought things to work on, to entertain, and have planned stays in a couple of lake houses and visits to family. The boys brought their computers so they can play online with their friends and have planned to go to the movies and meet up with friends before we leave Rochester. Jeff brought some supplies to detail the cars, his fishing rods, and tackle boxes, hiking gear, books he’s wanted to read, a new leather journal, and tools for learning wood carving. I brought a bin of books (naturally), paints, art boxes, things for knitting and hand stitching, cameras and tripods, inks and pens, and planned a few writing and design projects to work on.
Not to sound like Little Orphan Annie, but I think our time in The Waiting Place can and will be what we make of it.
I don’t want it to last forever, but even a time of waiting is full of potential.
So, here are a few specific things I have in the hopper as it relates to my blog and business…
alla prima art class & other art classes
My newest art course (that focuses on painting still life in oils) with Jeanne Oliver goes live on June 17 and I am looking forward to seeing the participants’ work and interacting with the course community. I know it will give me a nice boost! If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late to join in! You can sign up HERE. I hope to at least plan out some new art classes and videos to post on my website and YouTube channel, too.
In addition, I am taking some art courses as a student from Jeanne Oliver, Domestika, and a couple of artists I subscribe to on Patreon.
selbu knitting tutorial
It took a lot of practice, but I’ve now made five pairs of Selbu mittens and they are so much fun! I consider myself a beginning knitter and just needed to figure out the right yarn/gauge/pattern combo for how I knit. I have figured it out and will be making a video tutorial to share with those who want to knit some mittens, too. (You can find a few initial tips for beginners HERE.)
lino cutting & pattern design
I learned lino cutting last year and haven’t had a ton of time to practice and pursue it. I loved it, though, and brought along some lino blocks and tools to do more of it this summer. You can find a lino cutting & printing tutorial and pattern for beginners HERE.
book proposals
I loved writing Feels Like Home and have been knocking around some ideas for more books. I have worked on forming those ideas a bit more and have started putting together official proposals to pitch those book ideas. I’m very excited about this project and I’m thankful for this slow, simple time to work on it.
painting for original art sales & prints
Of course, I am going to paint! Between getting the house ready to sell, showing the house, getting ready to move, being sick, packing, and breaking my foot, I have not had the time or energy to draw or paint and I have really, really missed it. Now that I feel recovered, I have spent a couple of hours each day painting and working in my sketchbook and it’s been glorious. I am thinking about taking up a daily art challenge to have more intention and focus.
study & plan designs for the house
This is going to be so fun. I don’t know what our future house will look like, yet, but of course, I am hoping beyond all hopes that we end up in an old house. If it’s not old, I do know the kind of vibe I want and I’m looking forward to studying the design books I kept with me (I’ll share those) and putting some plans together. A nice part of selling almost all of our upholstered pieces is that I really can start completely fresh with new fabrics and patterns. Of course, I am going to stick with my signature color palette, but I’m looking forward to pushing my boundaries just a bit more. It’ll be so exciting! While I’m chomping at the bit, I am thankful for time to catch my breath and plan before diving right into a new house.
Oh, and I have lots of other projects in the wings! If there is one thing that is true about me in times of waiting it’s that I always bring more to do than I have time. I have a lot to entertain myself and work on for months. (Although I hope we won’t be waiting quite that long!) I’d also like to get to some museums and we’ll do some day trips with the boys.
I know I’m not the only one in The Waiting Place and I don’t want to ignore the fact that it’s not always an enjoyable place, no matter how many diversions you plan. Waiting can be gut-wrenching and it might be for you right now. But, in many cases, waiting can be sweet time…time to grow, to learn, to rest, to read, to just be.
…to take a breath before the next chapter begins.
Are you in The Waiting Place with me? Of course, we’re praying for the right job for Jeff and the right place for our family. But, how can we pray for you in your season of waiting? Leave your prayer requests in the comments…
Wow….your writing really hit me today….my brother-in-law passed away earlier this week, and my sister and my family are in a different sort of Waiting Place right now….they were childhood sweethearts and I just don’t know how she is going to move forward without him….and their daughter/my niece is just starting her young adult years, was learning how to spread her wings…..Please pray for both of them and for us, that we can help and be there for them as much as they need, during this time and going into the future……
I’m so sorry for your family’s loss. That’s so sad. Prayers for you all.
I’m praying for you and your family in dealing with your loss.
Beautifully said. The Waiting Place is such a lovely idea for the in-between times. Enjoy your time between now and your next chapter.
Hi Marion. Enjoyed this post. Yes, waiting is hard. For us right now we’re waiting for outcome of legal issues, will we have to move or not. I have health issue, I’m waiting for God to heal me. My hope is knowing that He has the power to do it. Please pray regarding this. I will be praying for God to guide and provide the job, home that will be a blessing for your family. God be with you all.
This is so inspirational! My husband and I are in a waiting season as well while his mother (who lives with us) battles cancer. As a creative, and a person who likes to plan, it can be difficult to remember that God has us in this season for a reason (if there were a better place to be, He would have us there) and that there are still plenty of things to accomplish while waiting. Thank you!!! I am praying for you all and KNOW that He has a direction and a great plan for you, Jeff and your boys in the future!
This was such a great post! Our own attitudes about circumstances is sometimes the only thing we can control, and keeping it positive makes such a big difference.
We’re kind of in a pre-waiting place. We know we want to move to be closer to our adult children and grandchildren, and to give our middle and younger children more opportunities than they have available to them in our current location. But my husband’s job is pretty specific and there aren’t other positions for him in the areas we’re interested in living. So we wait and pray. My own work as a production seamstress for a local business came to a screeching halt just last week when the shop said that sales are down so much that there isn’t any need for me to sew at this time. So I need to try to figure out what my next step will be (while also trying to come to terms with the emotions of not being needed and losing the income my work produced). Knowing that God is in control of it all is such a comfort and I know He’ll reveal His plan in His time. I continue to pray for you and your family. I’m excited to see this adventure play out for you.
and P.S. I’m signed up for Alla Prima and I’m SO excited for it! I had to order a couple of things for the class and getting the happy mail of art supplies is such a sweet gift this week.
Wow ! Good for you ! You did so much planning ahead and now you can enjoy the fruits of your labor . So glad that you are feeling better and are healing ❤️?. So curious as to where God will lead you next !
A year ago I was giving serious thought to selling my home of nearly 40 years to move to the place where my only child and her family live. There I would buy a house for all of us; we have lived together before and know that it would work for everyone. Although I am not keen on the location, I would have put that all aside to be with my grandkids and their parents. Except that the supply of homes in my price range suitable for us is nearly non-existent.
While I kept searching for a house, the Lord had other plans and put a waiting place in my life. A leaky pipe last summer all but destroyed my finished basement with water and mold damage. I lost much of what was in the space including some treasured things; I have come to terms that they were just things. I was blessed that my insurance covered the repairs and even more blest that the contractor chosen in a panic from the internet turned out to be reliable, honest, and did good work. But it’s been a Waiting Place for nearly 11 months. The reconstruction is finished now and I just have to move the items back in to the space. I a couple of weeks, I will have reliable and trustworthy helpers here for the job.
There is another waiting place in my life right now. Another grandchild is due in about a month! Her other pregnancies were uneventful but this one is causing my daughter some issues. She may have to be delivered early. This is one wait that I will gladly experience as long as it results in a health mom and baby.
What a timely post! I’m in the waiting place over health issues … recently found out I’m in stage 4 kidney failure and would appreciate prayer as I navigate this with my doctors. I will be praying for your family as you wait for God’s plan for your future.
Oh! Marian,
I LOVED this post. I am not really in the “waiting” but it still speaks to me. We all get excited for what is coming that we can forget to enjoy the waiting/searching to see where God will lead us. This waiting period for you really is just perfect. Time for you to take a deep breath. You did so many amazing things to your MN home, wrote a book, kept a blog, nurtured your family and pets and on and on….I don’t know how you do it!!!???
Just like when God said to wait for your PA home to sell. You started a local studio site. Then God led you to MN to a home you would probably never see yourself in….but you showed everyone how to personalize ANY home to your own style…and you wrote a book about it!!! God is in the details of your waiting. You are truly blessed to have parents that led you on the right paths early in life. I am feeling that by the time school starts again you will have found your next home. You have showed patience and followed Gods’ will…..I know he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 46:10). I feel an olde coming!!!! I am just as excited for you as you are!!!! It’s going to be great!!!
My prayer request is for good health, had some bad news that was taken care of….want it to stay that way!
And for healing for all the families in Uvalde, TX.
Oh I must buy that book for a young family I know I buy them lots if books. The parents are separated and I feel so bad for the 3 kids 8,6,3 yrs old. My waiting place is now finding more help for me as I care for my husband of which I’ve decided to keep him home.We in America are not as conscience of our elders as other cultures are. I see so many immigrants shopping with their parents whom I am sure live with them. We put so much emphasis in our kids that we tend to ignore our grandparents. As someone who never had children along with so many of my friends I see this from another prospective.Marian I think this idea you have of moving closer to your parents is a marvelous one. You and Jeff are to be admired for it. As always much luck with your summer ventures you all will land on the sunny side if life ! ! Take Good Care ! ! !
Thank you for your wonderful and insightful post Marian! I will pray for your family while you are in the waiting place. Our family is also in the waiting. I was recently diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and just finished my second chemo treatment. We are waiting to see if the chemo is working, waiting for my hair to fall out, waiting on God’s will for this situation. Waiting is HARD but you are absolutely right that it is what you make of it. So far I have learned of the unexpected and overwhelming kindness of others. Being a very independent person and now needing help is a humbling thing. It made me realize that I had a lot of pride I needed to let go of. God is teaching me every day. I would appreciate
your prayers!
Dear Page,
I will add your name to my prayer list. Chin up.
We bought our home in 1997 to be close to our jobs. The town we live in has never been a really happy place for me. Never felt like home and still does not feel that way after all these years. For 25 years I have been in the waiting place, waiting to move who knows where. My husband retired in 2010 and I retired in 2013. So for the last nearly 9 years I have been begging my man to move, move anywhere. Closer to one or the other of our daughters, back to the town where we met, to Phoenix where the climate is great, to coastal Maine which we both love. No dice. He, at age 80 and with no house payment now, is not interested at all. So I continue in my waiting place. I hope one day I will not be waiting.
Oh Linda, such a long waiting period. God is faithful and will answer your prayers. I will lift you up in prayer as you wait for your new home.
Such a beautifully written post! I never minded waiting even when younger, but I appreciate it now. Waiting is a gift for thought and appreciation, and retrospective. Maybe because I’m a daydreamer I can occupy my waiting with thoughts of events, things and people that make me smile. Our mother gave us the gift of her unbelievable patience. I think in that was me seeing waiting could be a gift of useful thought, not a waste of time…
What a tender post and needed by so many people. I am waiting for word that my daughter’s health is improving and she is out of pain from Crohn’s disease. I am waiting to decide if we shall put our house which we love up for sale so we can downsize and move to a new state. I am waiting for your oil painting class to start on June 17th.
Your readers are such a wonderful group of people…I so enjoy reading what they (and you) have to say.
There is a wonderful old devotional by Andrew Murray called Waiting on God. It’s 30 days long and you can probably find it in the public domain.
Thank you for sharing this. I’m going to look for it!
We are not really in a waiting place but in a sweet spot, meaning right now we’re at a place where my whole family is happy and doing well. We have two new grandbabies, safely delivered, all our kids are happy in their life and work, all are gainfully employed and have homes they love, our grandkids are all young enough to not have any big issues in life, and everybody is healthy. I know times like this are extremely rare and I guess if I’m waiting for anything, it’s for the next crisis to rear its head. Inevitably, because life is life, someone will experience a stressful situation or someone will get ill or, or, or… But for now, I’m basking in a beautiful life for our family. Despite the crazy state of the world (and the price of gas and groceries!!!) God is good and we are blessed. Praying for your waiting time, Marian, and can’t wait to see what God has in store for your family.
We are in the waiting place for decisions regarding my 27 year old daughter’s health. She had ovarian cancer at the age of 22 and had one ovary removed. Now the other ovary has a cyst that has remained for several months. Awaiting direction from her oncologist as to the path she should take. Not gonna lie…it’s hard when it’s your child and she is so young. Pray for a good outcome and for us to find peace in the waiting place.
Wonderful post. I have given that book as gifts to for retirements and graduations. It’s so fitting for lots of events. Yes, we all have been in or currently in waiting periods. During that time we can certainly grow if we choose. Sometimes we are brought to these periods just to be still and know God – wait on Him. Look forward to where you will land and what you will be up to in the meantime.
Beautiful and true. Thank you.
My husband and I are in the waiting place, too, as we are feeling called back into church ministry and wanting to be closer to family. It’s not a bad place to be, as long as I choose joy and contentment in the unknowns. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It feels like we are walking the path together.
Dear Marian, l love your attitude and I love how you plan to use your time wisely during this waiting period. I pray that everything will work out great for you and your family.
This post was so inspiring, beautiful, and came at just the right time for me. I’ve been at a prolonged waiting place as the company I work for was sold, and my boss left and my second boss left and now the head of the company is retiring, so my job will end this fall.
I need a new job that also lets me work remote (it’s something I did before the pandemic too, so it’s not unrealistic and I’m hoping I continue to be able to do so at a new job, especially in light of newer pretty pivotal health issues. Flexibility for employees is key). I’m hoping for an extremely nice boss and workforce, as well as a significant boost in pay (we were getting under the market rate for our work, pre-pandemic included.). Also praying for me and my husband’s health to improve (one of the many reasons remote work has been beneficial).
Thank you for thinking of us, and I will return the prayer for you.
You mentioned that you’re looking forward to “pushing boundaries” in the decorating of your next house. I would love to hear more about that thought process! Since I was a young girl, dreaming about what I want my home to look like was equally as fun as implementing it. I am so curious to hear your dreams and ideas!
I remember well those appointments and the waiting time….and as a working mother of four, telling them, “take your time!”. God shows us how to find our time of replenishing ourselves.
Thank you for sharing your family’s experiences. God bless you and yours.
There is something about this post that I found to be inspirational and it made me press my own pause button to reflect on a few things. Reading responses to this post was equally inspiring, as I am experiencing exactly what some people have listed as their waiting seasons. I am pretty sure God lead me here for a reason. Certainly waiting is an everyday part of life, from the little, mundane, simple things like waiting for my coffee to brew or a much more significant waiting period that I’ve been experiencing while searching for a new home. I have been keeping myself reasonably busy with many small creative & renovation projects during this period and I am actively seeking God’s guidance for my next steps. I am looking forward to seeing all of your next steps & love that you have so many fun things planned during your waiting period.
I’m in a difficult place in my relationship with my children. I’m waiting for restoration and change.
My family would appreciate prayers for my daughter in law who has been fighting stage 4 lung cancer for over a year now. She can no longer tolerate the toxicity of the study drug and will be ending her part in a clinical trial to have radiation. They have just found a spot on her skull. Still, she and my son try to make the most of each day. So our waiting is one that we wish to prolong. Thank you for your prayers.
Thank you Marian, for all your creativity you’ve shared with us over the years. I pray you all will land where God wants to plant you next. I’m asking you to pray for my husband to fully accept Jesus in his life, so some things can turn around between us and our lives can be more blessed. He grew up being unable to trust God or other people, because he couldn’t ever trust his parents. The childhood abuse history was not apparent when we married. We are also looking for a good new church home locally, that is totally Bible-based. Some days I have a hard time holding on, I just want some happy days. Thank you for your prayers.
Waiting for some extra prenatal exams for the child I’m expecting. The first one was not optimal. My waiting time is filled with anguish. Prayers would be appreciated. Thank you.
Praying for the Lord’s “peace that passes all understanding” to surround you today ❤️
Your post really resonated with me today, Marian. We have reached a stage in our lives where there are a few things we want to do to update it but at 60+ years of age, we just don’t feel like tackling DIY. So, I’ve reached out to three different kitchen cabinetry guys during the past three months and none of them have even responded in any way. Not even a call back to say, “Hey, got your message but I’m booked for the next year.” So, I’m exasperated. We did get a handyman to come in and install bead board in our laundry room but that was a seven-week wait. He did, at least, let me know right after I called him that we would have a wait and we were good with that. Then, there was the wait for the painter for three weeks. Again, though, he let us know it would be a while and we expected such. Waiting is not a bad thing and can even be a good thing as anticipation and excitement about the future builds and seems to make the journey more enjoyable!
Hi Marian, Thank you for continuing to share your life and your work and play with us. I am excited to see where the Lord leads you and Jeff and your boys! So often something you share is like something going on in our lives. We have been feeling lead to leave California and probably move with one of our children and his family. But our daughter in law’s mysterious back pain since February suddenly resulted in a stage 4 cancer diagnosis last month. So we have taken our house off the market in order to be there for our kids and their precious 5 and 7 year old granddaughters. We are so thankful for praying friends! (Maybe some of your time waiting will be for praying for all the prayer requests you will probably get as a result of this post! ?). Blessings on you all as you wait and as you look forward to God’s perfect situation in His perfect timing ❤️
What a lovely and timely post. It seems there is a huge season of waiting for many of us. I too am in a waiting place.
Praying for direction in my employment, my husband’s perfectly timed retirement, sale of a property, and my future focus in God’s perfect time.
Thank you for any prayers. Will be praying God’s joy as you rest in your waiting period.
Thank you for sharing your plans for waiting. A good tote bag is a wonderful thing. Always ready to grab with activities while riding in the car. If I am the passenger, mine is at my feet with magazines or books I want to read, a crossword puzzle, and a sketchbook. I always have a gallon zip bag with a folding watercolor palette, folding travel brushes, pencils and an old film container for a water jar. Have a creative summer.
Will be sending the Dr Seuss book to my great grandchildren. Thank you for the suggestion for the book I will be sending them this year for their birthdays. I believe reading to your children before kindergarten starts them on a path to wanting to learn.
Thanks so much for your generous offer to pray for everyone who asks. That is so thoughtful of you. Please pray for physical healing for my husband and I. Also, for his sister who is having a hard time dealing with the loss of her mom. I’ll be praying for a wonderful waiting time for you and your family. Thanks again!