“To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road,
to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

waiting

waiting is such a difficult task for so many of us to have a positive attitude about. our society portrays an almost inability to be able to wait... to sit, stand, or be quiet before or for a moment in time.

the parking lot of the mcdonald's near my parents' house is being torn apart and reconstructed so that there can be two lines for the drive thru. many mcdonald's have this convenience already implemented... mostly to serve more people in a shorter amount of time. because supposedly, people can't wait. people get frustrated or annoyed or completely give up on the task at hand if they have to wait for it.

moreover, in the past few weeks, i have developed a great dislike for car horns. because people rarely use them to warn another driver, but rather to scurry along another driver who is in front of them. mr/miss horn honker just can't wait. everyone is going somewhere, and most often has to reach their destination in a timely manner. i personally think honking, when used in an inappropriate way, is such an annoyance.

my prayer, for myself and all of us, is that we would find the goodness in waiting. that we wouldn't be in such a hurry all the time... to get away from where we were or to get to where we are going. but to go with the flow, wait, and be content in that time.

this morning, dave jane (campus pastor @ Riverside's downtown campus) made a true point in regards to the gifts that God gives through a reference to a video of one man's testimony about God's goodness. he said, "God only gives good gifts. No gifts from Him are bad."

waiting should be seen as a gift. so many of us are so busy with everyday life and tasks and duties and caring for people or children or doing schoolwork, that we don't really have time to spend doing nothing... such as waiting. but waiting is something. it's something to be taken full advantage of. to not be a moment of absolute frustration, but a moment to breathe. a moment that we are given to let ourselves clear our minds and be content in a moment where we technically don't have to do anything, except wait.

maybe we're waiting for a stop light, or for a program or video to load on our computer... or maybe we're waiting for the next season/chapter of our lives. but let's rejoice in this waiting. have peace about it, don't honk horns or in reference to the mcdonald's lines, speak your order faster so that you can can get your food quicker and do less waiting.

take your time. you've been given time. and honestly, not a ton of it. take it. take full advantage of it. enjoy the waiting. it's a good gift.