Waiting. . . a reflection for advent. . . but fitting for almost anytime

I have been giving a lot of thought to waiting lately. It really seems that waiting makes my world go round. It is so important and yet do we really give it enough credit? I would be so bold as to say a main focus of our life on earth is to learn how to wait. Since I think in bullets (and I'm a bit too distracted to put my thoughts in nice eloquent sentences at the moment - yea kids :) I'm going to make a list to help explain. Here are some things to do with waiting.

* We must learn to wait as adults
1) We wait for coffee to brew.
2) We wait for the mail.
3) We try to wait to have dessert or other sweets (if we are trying to be more healthy) as long as possible - I managed to wait so long last night that I actually avoided having a piece of chocolate - I did not have the will-power to say "no I will not eat it" but I told myself I had to wait and eventually I went to bed without it. The power of waiting is simply amazing
5) We wait for Jesus to come at Christmas.
6) We wait for our lives to be over.
7) We wait for Jesus to come again as King and rule over all.

*We teach our kids to wait
1) A child that can wait for a few minutes is like a breath of heaven. My daughter has learned this lesson so well she will begin her request with, "Mommy, when you are done nursing Jacob could you. . . " or what-not depending on what I am doing.
2) A child that cannot wait and must have his/her toy/milk/food/etc RIGHT NOW is hell because they tell you ever three seconds what they want - sometimes demanding, sometimes getting more violent. . . and even if you wanted to get it for them right that instant, sometimes you just can't.
3) Children need to learn to wait at the store, at school, at home.

*And waiting is not simply something we do when we feel like it (although sometimes conditions make us choose not to wait).
1) We have to wait out in the cold for the car tank to fill with gas.
2) We have to wait in line at the store to buy cough medicine when we have a headache or other ailments. Then we wait at home to feel better.
3) We have to wait for breakfast to cook or other meals to be prepared - often when we are very hungry.
4) Personally I have to make myself wait until the end of my exercise video to quit exercising even though I am in discomfort from the strain.
5) I often find it most difficult to wait for my husband to come home because sometimes I am just having a bad day and miss him a lot.
6) I wait for bedtime for the kids when they are becoming more and more difficult to care for as they get tired, or sick, or wired on sugar.
7) I wait for the next paycheck. . . praying no unexpected expenses come up and that the milk lasts - sometimes we drink water while we wait for the next paycheck or eat hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (my fall-back cheap and easy food).
8) As parents we wait impatiently - with each second seeming like an hour - for our sick kids to feel better - wishing there was something we could do (something we have not tried already).


Waiting. . . it is more than one might think at first glance. I think God is really trying to get me to see, this advent, that waiting is important and definitely worth our time.