Westside Stories Advent Edition: Becca Hermes

Learning to Hope While We Wait

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Waiting has been a recurring theme in my life—long seasons where the path forward felt unclear and the prayers felt unanswered. And yet, those seasons have become some of the places where God has shaped me most deeply.

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My husband, Nagib, and I have walked through many kinds of waiting. When we were dating, we waited longer than expected to get married because of the loss of his father. Later, we spent several painful years walking through infertility. We tried multiple fertility treatments before a doctor gently told us it was time to move on. Even then, the waiting didn’t end—it simply changed shape as we began the long adoption process.

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During that season, I remember crying out to the Lord, asking, “What are you doing?” And yet, I sensed Him saying something that has stayed with me ever since: “I know the children I have for you. You just don’t know where they’re going to come from.”

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Years later, when we adopted our daughter Mina as a newborn, I could finally see what God had been doing all along. His timing was perfect—even though I couldn’t see it at the time. Mina is such an incredible joy and gift to us, and her story is a reminder that God was never absent in the waiting.

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Now, we find ourselves waiting again—hoping to adopt a second child. It’s been over a year, and there have been many moments of discouragement. There are days when I wonder if this will really happen, and days when I feel content with our family as it is while still longing for more. It’s a mixture of emotions—gratitude and grief, trust and uncertainty—all held together at once.

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Even now, waiting is still hard. I still have days where I question what the Lord has for us. But I also remember that He invited us into this process, just as He did before. And I trust that just as He was faithful in Mina’s story, He will be faithful again—whatever the outcome.

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One of the most meaningful moments in this recent season came when I was studying 2 Chronicles 20. King Jehoshaphat’s prayer stopped me in my tracks: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

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That’s exactly where I was—discouraged, tired, and unsure. And yet, God met me there. The Lord reminded me that He is already at work, even when I can’t see it. That moment gave me the courage to keep moving forward instead of giving up.

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Waiting has also grown my compassion for others. I used to think I was patient, but I wasn’t very patient with people’s stories. Now, I can sit with someone in their pain and hold both hope and grief together. I know what it’s like when hope feels impossible, and I know how much it matters when someone else is willing to hold hope for you.

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Hope is not optional in the Christian life—it’s vital to our faith. As Paul writes in Romans 5, suffering produces perseverance, character, and ultimately hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God pours His Spirit into our hearts.

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In seasons of waiting, we learn to lean into that process. We learn to trust God’s timing. And we learn the gift of community—people who can believe for us when we don’t have the strength to believe on our own.

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Waiting is painful. There’s no escaping that. But it’s also a place where God is near, shaping us, forming hope within us, and reminding us that we are never alone.

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- Becca Hermes

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