rebelling against low expectations

I’m Not Waiting Anymore (And You Shouldn’t Either)

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Often I find myself waiting, for something.

I wait until a better time. I wait until I feel like it. I wait until I “can”. I wait to do hard things until I’m qualified to do them, or can do it perfectly, or am just the right person to do them.

So many times I talk about how I want to be this and do that and be that one person that pushes harder than everybody and gets stuff done and who gladly and completely fulfills God’s calling as perfectly as can possibly be obtained.

I’m rambling now, but that’s how it goes. I ramble on and on about all the stuff I think about doing and not actually doing it. I’m great at finding motivation. But getting started? Taking the leap? I hide under my bed.

But something has to change. I want live my life with purpose for Jesus Christ. I don’t want to waste my days on frivolous hobbies or meaningless chatter or trivial pursuits. I want to impact people. I want to work hard, to accomplish whatever will God has for me, and to do it to the very best of my ability.

Why wait? What better time to grow and to learn and to live and to work than where I am right now?

I’ve decided: I’m not waiting. Not waiting for tomorrow, a better mood, or when I “think” I should.

I used to think that someday, when I’m older and more mature, I’ll reach that point where I’m who I should be. Or that when I get married, everything will change. I’ll be happier, and I’ll automatically be a better person, love the Lord, and pursue Christ the way I’m supposed to. Someday, I’ll finally get a grip on my life and will just instantly become a woman of great faith.

But I’ve learned in the past couple of years, that’s not how life works, is it? Our lives don’t begin when we get married, or when we get a job, or graduate high school. Our lives are now.

Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for next year. Stop waiting until you’re happier, or when someone falls in love with you, or until you have more time to become the person you want to be.

Be that person. Become that person. Live now. Do it now. Run with reckless abandon from how the world expects us to act.

If we live each moment as if our next step will carry us across the threshold of Heaven, it will completely change our daily priorities, and we will find our worth in God alone, we will find our fulfillment, we will find our purpose in Him if we live the way God tells us to live.

And when the time comes, and our fingertips caress heaven’s gates, will we really feel like we missed out on what the rest of the world is doing? Or will we be filled with awe, and grace, and inexplicable joy being in the presence of the One who saved us and made us set-apart for Him?

You and I will stand before the throne of God, praising and worshipping and coming back to our First Love.

How beautiful is that?


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Photo courtesy of Chris Ford and Flickr Creative Commons.


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About the author

Rachel Hatcher

is an ordinary 16-year-old with an extraordinary God, who aspires each day to pursue God and to glorify Him. She enjoys reading, hiking, and drinking coffee on rainy days. She strives to be an inspiration to those around her by sharing her love for Jesus and being an encouragement in times of need.

55 comments

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  • Hmmm maybe I’ll wait to post a comment. Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow. Or Friday, or summer, or next year.

    Nope, I’m posting it now! =P Thanks for writing! =)

  • Great post, Rachel! You are a very gifted and encouraging writer. I was also looking at your blog and plan to read more of your writings. 😉

  • Wow, convicting article! I love what you wrote. I need to quit waiting till Friday, Summer or next year!

    • I used to always tell myself, “Well, when summer comes, I’ll ___.” or “Next year, I’ll do better in ___.” But why not here? Why not now? Life is just going to get busier and busier. Developing character and doing hard things and serving others are probably some of the best ways to spend out time!

  • Awesome Rachel!! Thanks for sharing. I needed to hear this. One of my favorite quotes says, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” Meaning you don’t have to wait to earn that degree, etc, He qualifies you. You don’t have to wait until you can quote the Bible forwards and backwards in order to share Jesus with others. He qualifies us, and continues to do a work in us. Just be.

  • Wow Rachel! your article has meant so much to me! Just today i was thinking about that.. “I’m gonna do this when -” or “I’m gonna do that if I know I can do it right-” etc, etc.
    I don’t want to wait either! I want to start doing now and, like you said, stop rambling about it.
    God bless you! He’s used you greatly today 🙂

    Ps. You’re a great writer! I’m amazed 😀

  • Beautiful post Rachel. I hope that with God’s help that I will get better at not waiting. It’s a hard habit to break, isn’t it? Keep writing for Jesus Rachel!

  • Great message, Rachel. (And you’re a really good writer – keep going!) It’s wonderful the way the eternal perspective transforms the way we live right now.

  • “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
    But the lord said to me, “Do not say ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you too and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:6-8
    For me this passage really stood out. It tells me to start young, start now. Don’t wait. The only problem is the how. How do I reach out? How do I show my friends I am a believer and that he is all around us? How do I tell them the good news?
    I sometimes feel like Jeremiah and say that I don’t know how to speak. But even though I might not be the best speaker, god still commands us to go to people that he tells us too. To tell our testimony. We might be afraid of them, but we still have to go. Don’t wait for them to come to you, go to them.

  • “I wait to do hard things until I’m qualified to do them, or can do it perfectly, or am just the right person to do them.” THIS!!!

    Often times, if not all the time, it’s a struggle. So many moments were wasted by just planning, yet not getting finished or started even. We, as Christians, have the tendency to loose sight onto what God has for us at this very moment. We’re so busy with countless preoccupations that we’ve already missed the opportunity to share the Gospel to a friend, or maybe comfort your fellow who lost a loved one. Or even worse, neglect the quality time for God and His Word.

    This article is easier read than done. It’s about time that we leave our comforts under the average life of mediocrity and live an extraordinary, God-scripted life. As you said, “Run with reckless abandon from how the world expects us to act.” Love that!

    Very well said, Rachel. Thanks for this awakening article (and so does your other ones). Worth sharing!

    • Thank you, Karen! Yes, it IS easy to get caught up in the planning. And then I often realize I’m acting just like Martha. I fractured my foot as soon as summer started, and I was really bummed. But you know what? I think God has been using it for me to draw closer to Him. God’s plans always work out for the better.

  • I am planning to start a bible study in our campus and this helps me a lot. You’re blessed to be a blessing!

  • God used you as an instrument for His glory and I know God will use you more. anyway, Rachel, I was so blessed after reading your piece and I was then reminded that when will I serve him fully? If my remarkable strength as a youth will gone? And yeah! I will wait no more. Hallelujah! 🙂

  • “Our lives don’t begin when we get married, or when we get a job, or graduate high school. Our lives are now.” Wow. This is something I have to remember every minute of every day. I waste so much time thinking about the future that I forget that right now is yesterday’s future. What use to be ‘later’ has turned into ‘now’ when I wasn’t looking. Every minute wasted is another minute closer to the end. I think of this often, while at the same time those minutes are adding up. But that’s the whole point- I’m THINKING about it. I somehow convince myself that getting inspired and THINKING about doing something is ACCOMPLISHING something. But instead, those wasted minutes just keep passing by.
    WOW! This is a great article – it is inspirational and well-written. Thanks for sharing!

  • This was a realization I woke up to not long ago. I had all these ambitions of the big things I was going to do in high school. But I kept saying, “I’ll do that when I’m older.” or “I’m too young for that.”

    It wasn’t until I realized that I only have two years left in high school that I said, “I need to do those things NOW!” This article was a great reminder that I need to stop waiting and start DOING.

    Thank you!

  • Rachel, thank you for writing this!! Definitely resonated with my soul, I am one for big words and big promises but I am absolutely AWFUL at actually following through with them. Here’s to hoping and praying that God will use me to actually step out and DO. God Bless

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →