Waiting

It seems like the theme for the week is waiting. When we're little, we wait for Christmas, our birthdays, our parents while they're talking, and however long it takes "to get there." When we're older, we wait to graduate, get a job, get married, and have a baby. These waits are of varying length, depending on the situation. It's probably one of the first disciplines expected of us, and we probably will never master it completely, no matter how long we live.

Not only does the length of waiting vary from person to person but the types of waiting as well. This week I've been reminded of a time of waiting in my own life as I've read the postings of my friend from church whose infant son has undergone two heart surgeries since early January in the University of Michigan's children's hospital. She stays there with her baby son--waiting for news that he is improving, on a couple of occasions waiting to see if he'll live through the day, waiting for her husband and other three sons to come on the weekend, waiting to see if her baby's condition will stabilize so that his long, slow recovery could happen here in Grand Rapids so that their family can be together again.

She is, understandably, discouraged. And as I read her posting today, I recognized her sadness. I've been there--different person, different illness, same hospital, same questions: Is this ever going to end? Will we ever have a normal life again? Why can't our family be together again like we're supposed to be? Isn't this just a waste of time? What good could possibly come of this?

Waiting is hard, and we really don't value it in our culture. From our dislike of waiting come fast food, microwaves, digital cameras, highways, and--yes--the Internet itself, where we have instant information, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And yet waiting seems to be one of God's favorite tools for conforming us to the image of His Son. I'm still not sure how it works, even though I admit that I'm a different (and, I hope, more mature) person for having had to wait. I think that waiting forces us to recognize that things will happen when God desires them to, in His perfect time, which very seldom is the same as our perfect time. We learn hope and trust as we wait.

I did tell her that one day she will probably look back on this season and realize that it wasn't as long as it seemed at the time. And with hindsight, she will probably even be able to see some good that has come of this. I also told her that the situation reminded me of last summer, when our family visited the Empire State Building. When we were on the first floor, outside the building, all we could see was the building itself. But from the viewing deck, we could see the beauty of the whole city laid out before us--the whole thing. I'm not sure that we'll ever reach "the viewing deck" in this life--and maybe not even in eternity. But I do know that from my own experience, time has clarified things a little.

So here are some words on waiting from those far wiser than I:

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry . . .
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me . . .
I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay (Psalm 40:1, 13, 17).

And from John Milton, the excellent Christian poet, who, at the end of his life was blind and unable to write any more, come these words of insight on the service of waiting:

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."