During this past holiday season, the Lord really highlighted the word “wait” to me.

In Croatia, the Advent season is widely celebrated, a time spent awaiting Jesus’ birth. As our children waited to open their gifts, they impatiently counted down to Christmas, each day asking how many more days they had to wait. And as soon as December started, they counted down the days until their Christmas vacation.

But all of this reminds me that each year we celebrate the birth of a Baby who would not perform any miracles or make Himself fully known until 30 years later. We usually read the Christmas story in one sitting, forgetting that there were long periods of waiting before and after He was born. This leads me to my next story, so stay with me.

A few months after Gabe and I started dating, we were taking our usual drive through a very dangerous part of Orlando, Florida, where there is a high rate of drug abuse and prostitution. We would minister to people and give Bible studies to a couple of families we had befriended.

As we were heading back to our homes after concluding a Bible study, we saw a mother with two little girls. It was cold outside, and as I mentioned, life on the streets was dangerous. Gabe and I pulled over and offered the family a hotel room for the night. We returned the next morning and listened to their backstory. The mother had been kicked out with her two girls, ages six and seven, because her mother disapproved of her boyfriend.

At the time, I was living with my sister and her daughter, so we offered the mother and her girls a place to stay in our home. We could not risk taking in her boyfriend, who was not even the girls’ father. She took us up on our offer, but a few days later, she left with her boyfriend and did not return.

She left the girls in our care, and we honestly did not know what to do. The hair of both of these little girls was filled with lice, and all their clothes carried a smell of dampness and cigarettes. We did our best: enrolled them in school, bought them clean clothes and offered them a Christ-centered home. They would join us in church every Sabbath and even sang special music with us.

After a year and a half, the mother returned and decided she wanted her girls back. With tears in our eyes, we returned them and could only pray for the Lord to protect them and guide their hearts.
Over the years, we were able to reconnect and hang out a few times. A few days after Christmas, almost 16 years later, we received a message on Facebook from one of the girls. She has since married a pastor and loves Jesus dearly. She reached out to tell us how impactful we were in her life and her walk with Christ. She and her husband are expecting their first baby, and she cannot wait to tell her daughter how we took her and her sister in when they had no place to go and helped them fall in love with Jesus.

Her message brought tears to my eyes. Our family was feeling down this holiday season—missing home. We felt like we were not making any difference here in Croatia, like there was no growth or change in the hearts of the people. But then the Lord reminded us that for seeds to grow and become trees that produce fruit, there are seasons in which we must wait.

We may not see the fruits of our labor in Croatia until long after we have left. The Spirit is moving, and we are to be obedient, because long after we are gone, God continues moving in the hearts and lives of His people. May 2026 bring you peace in the waiting.

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