Waiting

I've never been good at waiting. I remember how much I used to hate it when I was in town with my mother as a child, and she was always stopping and talking with people. She seemed to know almost everyone, and I'd be stuck there standing around until my feet ached. I'm interested to discover how many of my childhood memories are about the frustration of waiting, in fact - the lead-up to Christmas through December would seem to take forever, for example.

But as I get older, I'm learning to cope with things not happening straight away, and, indeed, I'm discovering that waiting time doesn't have to be wasted time. I can wait purposefully, I can wait in a way that prepares me for what is to come. I don't have to just kick my heels in frustration.

In fact, I'm discovering that to have the time to wait is in fact a blessing. It is something that is God-given. In the modern world it seems that everything has to be instant, everything has to be now . . . and because of this, on the whole the quality of so many things, of experiences, friendships, food even, has to my mind taken a dip. Most of the best things in life don't just happen, certainly they won't happen straight away. They have to be waited for, prepared for, worked for, watched for.

Just now in my own life, I'm in an in-between stage. My feeling is that one life is over, and another is beginning, but just now there are still some vital components of that new life for which I have to wait. They are not ready for me yet, and, because I'm eager to get on with stuff, that could be quite frustrating. But, when I think about it, the truth is that nor am I ready for them. There is still work to be done on me; I've got the time - let's get on with it!