Good morning…
This was a weekend of waiting. Waiting for a teenager’s scan results. Waiting for a baby’s birth. Waiting for my mom’s broken leg to heal. Waiting for a loved one’s transition to heaven. Waiting for deadly flood waters to recede. Waiting for raging fires to cease. Waiting for this ugly war to end. Waiting for the school year to begin. Waiting for July to flip to August. Waiting for clarity, answers, peace.
I must admit, waiting is not my strong suit. Raise your hand if you can say, “I wait well.”
Anyone?
Anyone?
Last week a friend sent me a screen shot from Streams in the Desert. These wise words helped me through my weekend wait.
Sometimes everything looks dark, really dark. Sometimes the hope we crave eludes us. Sometimes we relate to the prophet Isaiah: All fairness and goodness is gone. There is only darkness around us, so we must wait for the light. We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness (Isaiah 59:9, ERV).
“Waiting with hope is very difficult, but true patience is expressed when we must even wait for hope,” writes George Matheson. To me that is profound. Even the Spirit of hope is a direct gift from God, a gift we cannot give ourselves. With true patience, we wait for hope to rise like dawning light.
Might George’s prayer become our prayer?
“Father, give me Your divine power – the power of Gethsemane. Give me the strength to wait for hope – to look through the window when there are no stars. Even when my joy is gone, give me the strength to stand victorious in the darkest night and say, ‘To my heavenly Father, the sun still shines.'”
…Sue…
