Why Wait?

Recently, I had to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait, while my car was getting a new windshield. As many of you can relate, waiting probably not what any of us would choose to do. We don’t like to wait. We don’t like to wait at traffic lights. We don’t like to wait for food (here’s looking at all the families that have tried going to a restaurant with small kids; because I’ve been there too!) We don’t like to wait to check out at the grocery store.

            Why?

Because life is too much to wait. We have too many things to do; especially now in the holiday season. The parties, and shopping, and wrapping, and parties, and family errands, and wrapping, and so on forth.

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We live in a culture where ‘waiting’ is not expected. In fact, we complain when we have to wait because things are much faster nowadays than they were in many ways. McDonald’s ushered in the age of ‘fast food.’ Telephones made it possible for us to correspond with family and friends in short order compared to writing a letter.  And the internet ushered in the digital age where information is at our fingertips and only takes a fraction of a second.

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But that is not necessarily the way of God. God invites us to wait. From the Israelites in Egypt to their descendants around the birth of Jesus, God invites us to the holy task of waiting. Waiting is hard; not just because we have a tendency to near instant gratification. Waiting is hard because it invites us to have faith beyond ourselves! Faith that God will deliver. Faith that understanding will come. Faith that growth is happening, especially if we cannot see it at work. Faith takes us to the vulnerable position of not being in power. Waiting is hard.

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Yet, waiting is okay. It is an exercise in letting go and trusting/leaning into/having faith that God (not us) is working. It is a time when we can slow down and appreciate the things we miss because of our very busy lives. It’s a time of noticing the small moments of growth and learning. It’s a time of breathing, when that’s all we can do!

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So, God and I invite you to wait! We invite you to slow down and appreciate that God is working. We invite you to breathe deep that you don’t have to do everything. And we invite you to enjoy the little and bit of things in life while we wait! Christmas is right around the corner; and so is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus. Amen