Sometimes Healing Begins Before We Notice

HIDDEN IN THE WAITING

◉ Hidden in the Waiting → ○ Opened by Mercy → ○ Learning to Breathe Again → ○ Unbound

There is something really uncomfortable about waiting.

I'm not talking about waiting at the airport, or the stop light or the drive through.  It's way deeper than that.  It's a spiritual type of waiting.  

We live in a world that celebrates movement, progress, and quick answers. Waiting feels unproductive. We pray, we hope, we wonder if God hears us—and when nothing seems to change, it's easy to mistake His silence for  absence.

I have learned through my own life experiences that some of God's most important work happens where no one can see it.

That realization became the inspiration for the first painting in my Spiritual Heart Surgery series, Hidden in the Waiting.

When I began this piece, I built layer upon layer of collage, texture, acrylic paint, and expressive marks. Much of that work eventually disappeared beneath the oils. At first, it felt almost wasteful. Why spend so much time creating something that would never be seen?

Then it struck me.

Those hidden layers are what give the painting its depth, strength, and richness. Without them, the final image wouldn't exist.

Isn't that how God works with us?

The prayers whispered through tears.

The disappointments we surrender.

The quiet mornings when we open our Bible and feel nothing.

The seasons when we wonder if anything is changing, or will it ever change?.

None of those moments are wasted.

Long before we see tangible evidence of healing on the surface, God is preparing our hearts beneath it.

As I stepped back from this painting, I realized I wasn't looking at inactivity. I was looking at holy preparation.

Waiting is rarely about God doing nothing.

More often, it's about Him doing His deepest work where only He can see.

From My Easel

This painting taught me patience in more ways than one. There were moments when I wanted to rush ahead or cover parts that didn't seem to make sense. But each layer became part of the story, even the ones that disappeared.

Creating this piece reminded me that my own life has been shaped by hidden seasons too—times that felt quiet or uncertain even chaotic, but later proved to be where God was laying the foundation for something new.

Maybe that's why this painting feels so personal to me.

It isn't about waiting for life to begin.

It's about trusting that the Great Physician is already at work.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord." — Psalm 27:14

A Question to Ponder

Can you think of a season that once felt silent but, looking back, became one of God's greatest works in your life?

Next week, I'll share the story behind Opened by Mercy, where the healing begins—not through striving, but through God's gentle compassion.