What Are We All Waiting For?
Most of us are probably waiting for something to happen or for someone to arrive at any given moment in our everyday lives. Perhaps you are eagerly awaiting the birth of a new baby. Maybe some of you are simply waiting for the arrival of Phase Three; others are hoping for news of a job offer or an improved economy. Many of us are eagerly awaiting the November election during which time we can democratically fire or hire a political candidate. Some of us are waiting at the bedside of our sickly beloveds – hoping for a miracle or a blessed release from further suffering. Some of us had to stand in line today at the slowest checkout lane in a store; others were stuck in traffic jams awaiting a miracle or two in order to get to a meeting on time. Many of our children eagerly look forward to their birthday, the teen years, acceptance into college, or Christmas.
Many of us await the return of a son, daughter, grandparent, sibling, or friend at Thanksgiving.
In other words, we are all waiting! Waiting is an everyday occurrence with varying degrees of anxiety, joyfulness, anticipation or dread. Waiting can be grouped into two general categories: positive, hopeful waitings or irritating, challenging ones. Regardless of the type of wait we are either forced into or have full acceptance of, we are all called to love in and through this waiting – and therein is everyone’s challenge. How well are we waiting? How well are we loving through the wait? How much beauty are we creating through the wait? Conversely, how much bleakness, loss of hope, anger, or lack of faith do we generate through the wait?
Carl Anderson, author of Called To Love, writes that “our bodies are like an artist’s expressive medium; it is not a shapeless raw material but is a work of art waiting to be drawn out of the marble, the colors, or the musical notes. If human freedom were disembodied, it might have more room to play with hypothetical possibilities but it would be unable to create anything beautiful or to share such beauty with the rest of the world.” So waiting serves a purpose- it allows us to be drawn out by God; it can also become a disservice to God’s handiwork if we refuse to cooperate with His slow, patient, formation.
People of faith should have a better understanding that our waiting in lines, for people, for job offers, for anything is merely symbolic of the final wait. In fact, all earthly activities, nature, and dimensions are symbolic of our hoped for destination: Heaven. How well we wait for the smaller things in life may be a pretty accurate reflection of how well we are waiting for the Final Event. The good news is that once we go through the Final Event - we won’t have to wait anymore! The bad news is that the wait for the Final Event is filled with challenging, irritating, mini- waits that partially define who and what we are and how well we have allowed ourselves to be drawn out of marble, out of colors, or musical notes”.
May all of us always remember that God also waits – He waits for our assent to be drawn out by His hand during all of our waiting and during the “whatevers” in life. He waits as we learn to love authentically by His Hand.
God Bless .
