Learning While Waiting

This past week has been a long month. Well, maybe not quite that long but it seemed to take a lot longer than seven days to get into the new week. We spent some tiresome days with a lot of waiting.

Waiting on results. Waiting for answers. Waiting to feel better. A lot of waiting.

We have the mindset to learn all we can in this season of traveling the road of recovery. Even when we are weary we remind each other to learn well. So we wait and look to learn (even when blurry-eyed and muddle-headed from little sleepJ).

 

A little frog hanging out around the water feature in our wooded setting caught our attention. The frog sat so still for long periods of time. It waited. We watched. The frog was active while waiting, positioning itself ever so carefully for the best advantage in food-gathering and self-defense.

During the long dry spell we watched how various plants responded to lack of water. These rhododendrons hung their leaves, drooping them way down as they waited for water. (I didn’t take a picture of them that way, because, well, who wants a picture of wilted rhodies?) Then, when the rain finally came, those leaves were perfectly positioned to channel all the rain drops right down toward their roots. The plants were active while waiting for the rain. After rain, they perked right up and pointed their leaves back toward the sun.

Actively waiting. How could I do the same? How should I best position myself? My mind went to Isaiah 40. “Wait on the Lord.” My mind saw, “Wait on,” and flashed back to days of waiting tables. (No photos available. Didn't want to spend hours sorting through our storage to find some.) Waiting on people seated at the table. Active in that role of waiting, I was attentive to the wishes of those who were eating at “my” tables. I went back to them over and over, engaging with them to find out how I could better wait on them.

“Wait on the Lord.” So I am. I go to his table over and over again. I find as I offer praise, as I listen to his word and talk with him about Jeff’s recovery, I get rightly positioned and find joy in waiting.

We came to the Lord’s Table today and thanked him for reduced fever and for increasing strength. We rejoiced in his companionship on the road of recovery. We gave praise for better sleep. We thanked him for the many people praying for us, encouraging us to rightly position ourselves as we wait on the Lord. We told him of our gratitude for his enabling us to learn in every season. We praised him for the privilege of actively waiting on him.

What do you do in seasons of waiting? I want to learn more!

Christine