Waiting is hard… especially for me.  I think my life really has had only one speed and it doesn’t seem that waiting fits well into that speed.  I mean, I have trouble at doctor’s offices, red lights and even my mac pinwheeling.  Waiting often feels purposeless.  I’ve got better things to do than wait.

I have honestly tried to evaluate this problem… even though I have trouble reconciling it as a problem.  Surely there are better things to do wait… but what if waiting is the better thing?

Waiting often requires me to deal with my thoughts, my inner self and soul.  Waiting makes me stop and actually slow down enough to notice people and things around me.  Waiting also allows me to hear that “still small voice” that gets so easily drown out at a full-throttle, noisy pace of life.  “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).  I’ve often tried to rewrite that verse.  Why can’t I know that He is God full speed ahead?  Is there something that is only available to us in the waiting?

Isaiah 40:31 has always been a favorite verse of mine, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  I think I have always loved the promises of this verse.  Who doesn’t want to fly like an eagle or run with such endurance beyond a marathon or even an ultra and not get tired?  But how are we able to claim those promises?  Only by waiting on the Lord.

It’s only through the waiting that our strength is renewed.  It’s only in the waiting that our relationship with Him is given new life and strength.  Dependency on the Holy Spirit and walking in His power is best discovered in the waiting.  There is purpose in the waiting.  A purpose that can only be found in the waiting.

So today we find ourselves waiting.  We’ve gone from waiting in a pre-surgical waiting room to having to take the longest and hardest walk any parent can take.  It’s the walk down the hallway towards doors that are restricted for parents.  It’s the walk that at one point requires me to let go of the little hand that is clinging so tightly to mine.  And at the end of that walking… more waiting.

The waiting room is filled with others waiting.  But this waiting room is also filled with a presence – the presence of God who so graciously and lovingly is inviting me into waiting.  To listen through the surrounding noise and hear His still small voice.  To enter into rest where my strength can be renewed… and yes, I am tired.  An invitation into waiting is an invitation into His strong, sustaining arms.  It’s where I need to be and it’s where I am.  Thank you Jesus for the waiting.  Help me learn to be a better ‘waiter.’