Thornton - I Dont Wait Anymore

A GIFT FOR

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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT I DONT WAIT ANYMORE

In her book, I Dont Wait Anymore, Grace Thornton shares her struggles as she comes to know and love the edgeless God of the universe as the One who is weaving her life, her story, into a beautiful tapestry of His grace, one in which the full picture will not be seen until we reach our home that God has prepared for us. On page after page, Grace has powerfully captured the essence of Gods nature as the One who loves us intimately as He reveals Himself through His Word and uses every moment of our lives to draw us closer to Him, if we are willing to run to Him.

DR. JEFF HOLLAND, CONGREGATIONAL CARE PASTOR, PINELAKE CHURCH, BRANDON, MISSISSIPPI

I Dont Wait Anymore explores the story that is present in all of usa story that each of us must identify and experience lest we settle for a limited view of God and what He wants for us. Grace Thorntons ability to weave together her life happenings and personal convictions brings a new voice to Christian literature that deserves a listen.

AMY BUFKIN, ADVISOR AND WRITER FOR REACHINGHER.COM

Every word packs a punch, knocking down every excuse for not diving into who Jesus is and revealing the overwhelming power of His love.

MARGARET WALSH, EDITOR OF THE ROPE BLOG FOUND AT HTTP://THEROPETAB.WORDPRESS.COM

What happens when you pray for something goodlike a spouseand he or she never comes along? Answer: someone infinitely better comes along. This is a keenly felt memoir of a young life put on hold but then wonderfully taken hold of.

BARRY COOPER, AUTHOR OF CAN I REALLY TRUST THE BIBLE? AND DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AT CHRISTIANITY EXPLORED MINISTRIES

We all face a choice when our dreams diedo we become bitter or do we surrender ourselves to God? Grace Thornton chose the latter and found meaning and fulfillment in surprising places. An enriching and faith-building journey for anyone searching for God.

AMY BOUCHER PYE, AUTHOR OF FINDING MYSELF IN BRITAIN

Theres something about a story that helps truth to sink in. Grace invites us into an intimate journey of faith. Page by page, she leads the reader to the greatness and beauty of the God who is near and sovereign and satisfying. Read and let your roots sink deep into realities that will not only hold you fast when life hurts but will equip you to live for the glory of God!

MATT MASON, SENIOR PASTOR OF THE CHURCH AT BROOK HILLS

I Dont Wait Anymore

Copyright 2016 by Grace Thornton

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr., SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

ePub Edition March 2016: ISBN 978-0-310-35006-4

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain. Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Milkglass Creative

Cover photography or illustration: 2015 Getty Images

Original package design: 2015 Thomas Nelson

Interior design: Mallory Collins

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To all the dear friends and family whose stories have woven through mine over the years. I didnt live this in a vacuum. God has spoken to me over and over and over through your lives, our conversations, our laughter, and our tears. I love you, and Im blessed to walk this life with you.

CONTENTS

Maybe the most encouraging thing you can hear is this:

Life can feel different. It can be different.

Life can be different than it is right now.

I remember what I used to think a good life looked like. I even remember a time years ago when I used to think we all got that kind of life. I had friends who seemed to live it. They loved God, got married, had children, landed good jobs and bought houses, and enjoyed their lives without a lot of complications, without a lot of pain.

And then there was methere was us, a whole lot of us. And for us life didnt look like that at all.

Things didnt quite work out. Dreams got broken, and it hurt. We found ourselves on a path we didnt want to be on, a path that didnt fit with what wed always thought was good.

So we felt uneasy about our lives, and we felt uneasy about God. This isnt what I signed up for. Why did God let my life go this way? Why did my plans not work out even though Ifelt as though thats what He was calling me to do or to be? Why hasnt He shown up yet like I thought He was supposed to? And deep in the quiet of our hearts, whether we realized it or not, a wounded whisper grew to a roaring question: If this is who He is, if this is how He loves me... what do I do with that?

Some of us kept living half-hearted lives, saying we believed what wed always believed about God, even though our beliefs didnt add up with our reality. Some of us kept walking, hoping everything was still going to work out eventually, albeit a little late. Some of us felt angry with this shocking new version of God that had turned out to be pretty unfair. Some of us walked away from Him.

I can tell you what I didI tried a lot of things. I tried taking my dreams into my own hands. I tried pursuing new dreams instead. Some of them worked okay. Some of them didnt work at all.

But either way, at the end of the day, the whole thing still didnt sit right in my heart. It didnt feel right. Something felt profoundly wrong, and it wasnt just the fact that life didnt look the way Id always wanted.

It was bigger than that. I didnt need to find a way to make my life good.

I needed to know what good really was.

I needed that reality to wreck my life, my expectations, my dreams. And I needed it to write a totally different story.

Trying to make my life into something that felt better wasnt going to fix anything. Ever. There was only one thing that woulda new perspective on God and His love for me. Im not talking about a view that self-talks that God is in control to make me feel better. Im talking about catching a glimpse of who God actually isnot who I thought He wasin such a way that it would wreck me and write new dreams for my life.

I needed to be undone. I didnt need life to be better; I needed it to be radically different.

And maybe, just maybe, its possible you need the very same thing.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

JEREMIAH 29:13

I rolled over without opening my eyes, fingers grasping for the alarm. My hand punched through a pyramid of crumpled-up tissues, a perfect pile poised and waiting all night for the perfect breeze to blow it over.