Waiting...

Waiting is a beautiful thing. However, a time of waiting typically compels us to feel tense, upset, even angry. Despite our common reactions, waiting remains a profoundly lovely and refreshing time.

Why do we wait? What does it mean to wait? Whenever we wait, some circumstance, some event, invades our lives and takes us to a place beyond our conspicuous, limited ability to act. The occasion forces us to wait for some other agent to act, or we may simply need to wait for time to pass (in this case, time is the agent). 

When this situation comes upon us, not only can we rest, but we must rest– rest forces itself upon us because we are powerless to do otherwise. And why, in the world, would we not want to rest? Rest is a beautiful thing. Rest refreshes. Rest strengthens. Rest prepares. Rest settles matters in their proper perspective. Rest is the central core of peace.

In 1929, one of Coca-Cola's most successful marketing campaigns proclaimed their product as "The pause that refreshes." It seems that while the pause of rest frequently attracts us, the thought of being forced to wait repels us. Perhaps if we remember that resting and waiting parallel each other, we will more easily and willingly enter into them.

Rather than follow the common urge to rush out of the time of waiting, linger in this precious time. Embrace the rest, embrace the wait. Rest plows up fertile time for drawing near to the Lord of All and knowing that He remains in control; that He stands more than adequate. And He will certainly offer you the Peace that waits beyond all understanding. Bathe in the peace that waits for you.

"I wait for the LORD,
my soul does wait,
and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord,
more than the watchmen for the morning;
indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning."     (Psalm 130:5-6)

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>>> Except for quotations, all text and first image are Copyright, Bill Brockmeier, 2015.  All rights reserved.