Waiting… by JoAnn

Have you ever wondered, as human beings, how much time we all spend exercising our ability to “wait”? Each and every one of us waits every day of our lives for something. I think it’s the very first lesson we ever learn. A baby comes into the world waiting to be fed. Waiting for its first taste of the milk it needs to live and crying out until that need is met. As a child grows, they struggle with the waiting. Waiting for what they want or need causes tears, tantrums, and mixed emotions. Everyone around waits for the child to learn how to wait.

The word wait may not be the most used word in our vocabulary, but it might be the most used action, other than breathing. We wait for the sunshine to wake us each morning and then for the coffee to brew. We wait till it’s time to leave for work or push the kids out the door for school, where they wait for the school bus. We wait for doctor appointments, stores to open, payday on Fridays, the light to turn green, and even for the weather to change. Every day, all day, we are waiting for something. A phone call, text, or email. A TV show to come on, or the dog to use the potty when we take him for a walk. Wait, wait, wait.

It’s Biblical to wait. So we can never complain that we weren’t forewarned that life would be filled with waiting. Google states that the act of waiting is found in over 116 instances in the Bible. The actual word “wait” appears 139 times throughout the Bible. One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” That verse got me through many trials in my life. Times when I could not understand the wait. I had to learn the proper way to wait in life. That meant learning patience.

Christian writer Joyce Meyer wrote, “Patience is not simply the ability to wait, it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”

Highly regarded Christian preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes.”

American astronomer Carl Sagan was quoted as saying, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known .”What a beautiful thought about the purpose and power behind waiting.

I think our most basic needs, which are all learned early to be obtained as a result of waiting, can be summed up by Dr. Charles Stanley: “Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we’re waiting for.”

Waiting is just that, a basic necessity every human, and animal(I suppose), must learn in order to live a more peaceful life. I believe the humans on earth are the most “waiting” creatures, though.

Out of my three children, two were quite good at waiting, but one had a more difficult time learning the art. She still struggles to wait without stress being an issue. So, although it must be learned as soon as a child is born, it may never be a perfected habit.

Whatever you are waiting for or waiting to do, stop and take notice of your attitude. It will make all the difference in how soon you will see results. And that those results are positive!