My years as a systems analyst taught me the discipline of “waiting”.

My nature is to GO and do it quickly!

However, a good systems analyst waits to gather up all the facts and then allows them to percolate before a systems design is proposed. The more experienced the analyst, the harder to “wait” for the answer. We have a tendency to make quick assumptions based on prior similar projects we’ve completed. The risk is that we create a system that solves yesterday’s problems but does not prepare us for the future. As a Leadership Coach, I also use this talent for asking breakthrough questions to help my clients hear the wisdom that is already inside them. Again, there are those times where I wish I could just write a prescription based on my past experiences and tell them what to do. Like a Doctor that whips out his pad just moments before you might have shared that one symptom that would have made all the difference in his diagnosis.

Ever felt like your doctor just cut you off and didn’t listen?

This is a definite No-No in the coaching world. My gift to them is waiting and allowing them to discover what is just below the surface – the very information that will catapult them into their future and not just answer today’s questions. Today, I am once again challenged by the discipline of waiting. I’m writing from a very special place in North Georgia. It’s a time of personal retreat and renewal. My goal for this time is to fellowship with God, my coach on this journey. As always, I have lots of questions for Him. I’ve heard answers to questions I didn’t think to ask. Funny, my clients say that about me as well. As I sit in the stillness of this mountain-top retreat it takes great discipline not to just run with the information at hand. But I hear a voice that says,

“Wait for it…Wait for it…”

Rushing might result in answers to yesterday’s questions. Waiting promises answers to a future that according to God’s Word (Eph 3:20), is immeasurably more than I could ever think or imagine. I am not willing to miss out on His plan for me! What about you?

• What reward is in store for you as you practice the discipline of waiting?
• As a parent, what fresh discoveries will your children make when encouraged to process their thoughts at their own speed?
• As a leader, will waiting be the key to empowering your team?
• As an individual, are you satisfied with the comfort of your current circumstance, or are you willing to take the time to break-through to an unexpected future?

Break-through moments often require the discipline of waiting for the appointed time. Are you willing to risk missing tomorrow’s promise by settling for yesterday’s answers?