Waiting – Lori Borger
At the heart of all forms of waiting is a loss of control. When we wait, we are usually at the mercy of someone else’s timetable. This current wait to return to our normal busy lives is governed not necessarily by a person but by some microscopic virus. In spite of our best human efforts to understand it, to contain it, or to prevent it, there is still something beyond our control.
So, I have two choices. I can fight against my lack of control. This fight can take the shape of tackling my to-do list in an effort to control something. Ultimately, that is making productive use of my waiting, but it doesn’t hasten things along. I can get frustrated or angry, but that serves no one. The better choice involves a level of acceptance. I must accept that there are things that I cannot control. I cannot hurry this process along. I can’t change this situation.
Waiting, then, teaches me what I should be learning all along. Acceptance. Accepting that there is a God and I am not Him. Accepting that for all of my human efforts, there are some things I cannot fix. Accepting that there is nothing to do but wait in the arms of a merciful and gracious God. And in that acceptance is a trust in the good things that God can bring out of all situations. Perhaps in this waiting, I may learn things that I simply cannot learn rushing through my day. Maybe waiting is a better posture to be in after all.