Waiting is something we all have in common. We wait for small things, like the stoplight to change or big things, like medical test results. We wait for milestones like a child walking or graduating or getting married. We wait for provision or a resolution. We wait for answers or clarity. We wait, sometimes knowing the answers we receive may change everything.
It’s not easy to wait. One writer shared “waiting is essentially a matter of being — stopping, sitting, listening, looking, breathing, wondering, praying.” She says, “It can feel pretty helpless to wait.”*
The changing of the seasons is such a helpful reminder about waiting. As we wait for the seasons to change, we anticipate an expected outcome. I have been waiting for the sun to stay around a little longer each day and it is finally happening. My past experiences have taught me that winter will end; the days will length, the temperatures will rise, the trees will be green again.
We can carry that same sense of hope with us as we wait for other things. The same One who tells the sun to shine will be there with us — no matter what the outcome is. The same One who brings the rain will provide for us, however things turn out. The same One who overcame death can sustain our life as we wait. We can wait with hope and confidence knowing that God will be with us. Like a watchman waiting for the morning, we can be expectant. We can anticipate the dawn. We can wait with hope.
May we have the courage to take the step into the unknown that beckons us;
Trust that a richer life awaits us there.
- John O' Donohue
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*Barbara Brown Taylor, Gospel Medicine