The Meaning of Waiting
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Waiting
noun
the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens.
In the waiting can be difficult and the delay can be disappointing. Somewhere between the valley, the mountaintop and the plateau there is often the waiting.
There is fishing and there is catching. One often requires more patience than the other.
A few years ago, My dad and I sat on the boat, baited the hook, and casted a line. We waited for the next fish. Waited and waited quite a bit. While we were in the waiting, we talked about what we thought our catch was going to be. A big fish, some tuna perhaps, a salmon. We talked about how great fish tacos sounded. We were in the waiting while also in the anticipation.
We waited on the boat for some time and rushed over when got a pull. We pulled and reeled it in. It was this beautiful creation. A guppy is what we got. We laughed and immediately grabbed my camera. In life, what we catch may not be what we expect. I saw that perspective is a key factor in joy. To a mind fixated on the salmon or the trout, this guppy would have been much of a disappointment. Our perspective was found in; we caught something.
My dad and I didn’t fixate on the time it spent to catch such a gem. I realized that it was enjoyable because in the time we waited, we made the time meaningful. So meaningful, that we were not keeping track of the time. So meaningful that we talked about some of life’s greatest mysteries and wonders. It was not about what came at the end but the process to get there. The meaning was found in the waiting.
I think this is the joy of life that the Lord is leading us to. The joy in the midst of waiting. To create meaningfulness even in the mundane. While we waited, we had time. Sometimes we may have to create intentional time in our days. I encourage us to find it, to create it! It is worth it.
In a day today where there is so much to get done, so much to accomplish, how do we live well? How do we wait well?
I have come to experience that the season of waiting can become a distraction for the moment of reality. The posture of waiting may turn into wishing. And wishing can quickly turn into rushing. The instigator of this is impatience and discontentment. This is where wishing turns us away from the present reality of where we are specifically placed for such a times as this.
The purpose of the season does not reside in the circumstances but within the hands of the Creator. So, create the space to dream again. Find the time to fill your cup. Fight for moments of gratitude.
Some seasons of waiting may be longer than others. I am just reminding that today, there is something to learn in the waiting. There is meaning in the waiting.
The waiting is the teaching. | As He has me here, what is it that He wants me to know? |
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8
With lots of love,
Mak
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Continue reading for 2 of 2 In the Waiting: Season of Readiness