Waiting

This picture just hugs my heart. Bess sent it this morning and it grabbed me. I can definitely identify with it. Lawson is waiting for his friend he calls Wy Wy to come over.

Waiting and anticipating - don't we all know these feelings? There are times in our lives when we can all totally relate to the sayings, "It's like watching paint dry" or "A watched pot never boils..."

The most common and vivid memories I have of this kind of waiting and anticipation is Christmas morning. When we were little, Bess and I would wake up early, early and get in bed together waiting until we could go wake up mom and dad to see what Santa brought. They had set the earliest time at 5:00am when we started trying to get them up at 3:00am. The funny thing is that I haven't really changed that much. I get that same feeling of excitement Christmas morning. It's such a wonderful feeling.

I feel exactly like Lawson when I'm waiting for friends to come over. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to have people over and in our home. I've usually gotten the house clean (it's really the only time I clean), gotten yummy food ready, lit candles and have everything ready to play hostess and help people relax and have fun visiting together. If, by chance, I get done early, I find myself sitting on the couch looking out the window waiting with butterflies and excitement in my body for them to get there .

I love that feeling of, "I'm just going to burst having to wait any longer" when something exciting is going to happen.

But, waiting isn't always fun. There are times when waiting and waiting is the hardest thing in the world. In school, it was waiting for the results of tests or papers. Or, once you've submitted an application, waiting to see if you got in or got the interview. Or, if you put an offer on a house that you've falling in love with, waiting to see if it's accepted. Or, if you're sick, waiting to feel better. Or, when a loved one has found a tumorous mass, waiting to see if its malignant. Or, I'm sure you can fill in your own experience when waiting was difficult and the time went by so slowly - as if you were watching the hands of a clock that never move.

To wait is difficult. To wait patiently is a learned discipline. Sometimes to make waiting easier, it helps to have faith and believe in God. It helps sometimes to surrender to the waiting, understanding that much of what you're waiting for is out of your control. You can't make your friend get there any quicker...you can't make the doctor give you results before they're ready...you can't make the results what you want. But what you can know is that it's going to happen, eventually. The paint will dry, the water will boil, the hands on the clock do move.

I can say that waiting with others does make it easier. Waiting for Christmas morning was much more fun when Bess and I got in the same bed and waited together. Waiting for more critical things is also much better and easier when you have loved ones to share that wait with - helping bring a sense of calm and assurance to the unknown possibilities that exist. Giving support and love when the waiting results in disappointment or hurt. And sharing joy and excitement when the waiting ends in celebration.

It's inevitable that we will have to wait for things in life. I guess what's important is what we do with that time we're waiting. I, like Lawson, like to stand in the window watching for it, in great anticipation and hope.