Waiting

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31
 
If you were to give yourself a score between 1 and 10; 10 being awesome, how would you score yourself at waiting?  Are you patient, still and peaceful as you wait or are you fidgety, anxious and impatient? What would you think if I told you I was going to give you a free trip to sit in a waiting room?  I’m not sure how many would find that much of a trip at all but maybe it could be if we took a different look at waiting and the things that can happen to us while we wait. 

One December many years ago I remember sitting in waiting rooms at Mayo Clinic with Mom for an entire week.  I am reminded of a simple blessing of all that waiting each year when I put up our Nativity set.  As we waited and waited, I began to visit with people who were also waiting and there was one particular couple from Wisconsin that made the waiting so much better.  Throughout the week he would whittle little pieces of wood and she would card wool from the sheep they raised.  On the last day we were at the clinic they told Dad and me they would be praying for us and they handed each of us a set of nativity animals made from the wood he had carved and whittled and the wool she had carded.  Each year as I unpack them I pray for that couple and remember the gift of their talent and their friendship and prayers during a time of frustrated waiting.  They were our Mayo clinic blessing; a waiting blessing.

I think we’re all waiting for something.  What are you waiting for? Maybe you’re waiting for a new job, or a headache to go away.  Perhaps your wait is more serious like waiting for a baby, for test results, a lost love to return or for a diagnosis.  Perhaps you’re waiting for someone to get car keys so you don’t have so much carpooling to do or for a little one to finally sleep through the night or master the art of potty training.  Many are waiting for a blanket of sadness, grief or loneliness to be lifted from their heavy heart.   We spend months just waiting for something to start and something to stop so something else can start.  The honest truth is, many of us are simply waiting on God to organize our life just the way we’ve been planning it; just waiting for him to do his job the way we’d like it. Since we spend so much time waiting, the kind of waiter we are matters.

The prophet Isaiah promised that those who waited on the Lord would have their strength renewed.  I could use a little of that!  The fruit of waiting patiently is peace.  That peace gives way to humility and docility.  What if we invited God into our waiting?  What if we offered him the seat right next to us?  Through that attitude of humility and docility that comes with peace, we might begin to realize that the job we’ve been waiting for might not be ours at all; maybe it’s the perfect job for someone else.  What if that person we’ve been waiting to love us is meant to love somebody else because God has someone chosen that will love us far more than the person we had in mind ever could.  What if healing meant making our soul healthier than our body so we could enjoy eternity with Jesus instead of spending more years on earth? What if we became so good at waiting we grew in humility to such a point we rejoiced when others got something and we forgot we were even waiting in the first place?  What if we realized all of the waiting we do has a great purpose; one we usually can’t see.  Not to worry, God can see it and someday we’ll figure it out and realize when we patiently wait for him to bring everything to complete perfection, we are blessed with something so much better than we even hoped for!

 Isaiah said that we would not grow weary or faint.  How can that be?  Worrying and waiting is exhausting, everybody knows that.  Well, here’s a news flash, waiting is supposed to be an inactive thing so we shouldn’t be worn out.  If we are waiting right we are in peace, letting time pass with contentment knowing God has it all under control.  Instead we get worn out because we fight and squirm and wrestle with God’s plan confident he’s forgotten, or misunderstood our needs.  When I get like that I hear my mother’s voice say, “Now Sheri Ann, just settle down miss, settle down!”  Good advice as always mom!  Advent seems to be a great time to practice our waiting!  Ready…set…wait!

A Seed To Plant:  What are you waiting for?  Make a list and ask God to take your worries and “waiting for’s” and exchange them for peace and patience.

Blessings on your day!