Waiting

The Best and Worst Feeling

When you think of waiting, what comes to mind? Maybe waiting in line at the grocery, waiting for a break in the rain so you can run to your car, waiting for the bus to arrive, waiting for the light to turn green, waiting for those last few seconds of the school day to be over, but no matter what you are waiting for there is going to be something to follow. 

The Worst Feeling

The phone rings and you see the hospital is calling. You have been waiting to hear the results of the tests. You hear what the doctor says and your face goes blank. Tears well up and your heart sinks. This was not what you wanted to hear, but after all this time your worst fears are confirmed. 

You open your email and see the name of the company you applied to months ago. Emotions begin to stir inside of you and you click to open it. You read out loud what you hope you want to hear until you say, "...sorry...". 

He said it was a large fire and that he would be home later. Hours pass and you hear nothing from him. You have seen him go so many times before, but this is different. There is a knock at the door and you look out the window to see a red car and two well dressed men. You can't bear to hear them say what you know to be true. He's not coming home.

This was the big one. If you made this sale, you would be set. You set the time and date with the client to meet them for lunch. This was your day and that lunch was going to taste amazing knowing that you pulled this off. You go to the restaurant and there is no small talk. They, "found a better option.". 

The Best Feeling

She thinks this is just another nice dinner, but you are full of nerves. Across the table sits this woman you have poured your heart into for so long. This was it. You get out of your chair and down on one knee. She says yes.

This last week has been rough. They don't call it dead week for no reason, but you made it through. It feels like forever before the grades are posted. You scroll through each of your classes and with each passing grade you become more and more overjoyed. You did it! You are going to graduate!

You tested at home, but you wanted to make sure. Your husband doesn't know. He gets home and the phone rings. The doctor on the other end tells him that the test is positive. He's going to be a dad.

You have spent countless hours praying. Your friend has been asking all the questions you would expect them to. The phone rings and they are sobbing, but through the sniffles and crying they say, "I finally excepted Him into my life.".

What to do while you wait

In an instant gratification society, waiting is never something that seems to be enjoyed. Many times throughout the Bible there is waiting. Waiting to hear from God. Waiting for the the savior to be born. Waiting in the dessert. There is a whole lot of waiting, but is it important? The simple answer, yes, but there I think there is more to waiting then most of us realize. 

In waiting for things, we are able to control our response to the end result better. One way that I try to reinforce my patience is by choosing the line at the grocery with the most people in it. I don't go through drive through's because if I am in such a hurry, then I need to reassess how busy I am and hone my priorities. 

I will constantly be waiting for my bonsai trees to grow and become what I intend them to be. Don't waste your time waiting hoping for good things to happen though. By waiting for things more often, we are able to see the value in things worth waiting for versus how trivial most things that bring instant gratification are. 

So I challenge you to wait for something this week, but don't be lazy while you wait. Maybe you write a letter and send it to a friend. Waiting to hear from them about how much they appreciate a hand written letter will be amazing compared to a text message.

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