wait
Just reading the word made my eyes well up with
tears. What in the world is that
about?
I hear myself saying it to my children “Wait, please.” … “WAIT.” …
“WAIT!!” “Wait for your turn.” “Wait
for me to get done with this and I’ll give you my full attention.” “WAIT! There’s
a car coming…you cannot cross the street right now.” “Wait for me at the corner…I’ll catch up.” “Wait just a second. I’ll be right with you.”
And I hear the littlest one’s voice saying (sometimes
sweetly, sometimes in the most demanding of ways), “Wait for me, Mama.”
Wait. But I don’t want to wait (and I doubt that my
children really want to wait either). I
want what I want and I usually want it right about…um…now.
We’ve talked a lot about waiting here on the Africa
Mercy. Waiting on what’s next. Waiting
to know where we're going. Waiting to sail.
Waiting, knowing that nothing is wasted in our God’s plans. Waiting…yet not idle. Waiting, knowing that whatever is coming MUST
be worth the wait.
And trusting that what Isaiah writes (and Chris Tomlin sings) is True – strength WILL rise as we
wait on the Lord. We will get stronger
as we wait for Him. Waiting = increased
strength. I need more strength…if waiting
is what it takes, bring it on -- but I’d definitely still like to have something to do while I wait. At some
point I realized that I didn’t have to rely solely on the magazines in the
doctor’s office to pass the time while I waited – I started bringing notes to
write or a book to read – and the wait became quite enjoyable…even something I
looked forward to.
Waiting doesn’t have to be wasting. It can just be another way to make the most
of every opportunity. May we wait
well…
Beyond the 5 minutes:
Other avenues I didn’t explore: “why wait” “waiting
games” “waiting on others” (as in serving others…or waiting on them when they
are running late…) "the best things come to those who wait"
