Waiting

I vividly remember what it felt like as a child to wait for Christmas. Christmas Eve felt like the longest day of the year. I don’t necessarily remember what we did every Christmas Eve, although I’m sure my sister Laurie and I would have had to stay out of my mother’s way as she busily prepared to host Christmas dinner, but I remember the anticipation. We must have been trying to think of things to do while our minds were really only thinking of what Santa would bring. I am sure we went to Christmas Eve Mass that seemed to go on forever and parties where the adults could have socialized into the wee hours of the morning if we had let them. Never mind waiting to fall asleep when our minds were so busily thinking about Reindeers on the roof! Waiting for Christmas to finally come was really hard. Actually, waiting for anything, even as an adult can be hard. It occurred to me, this Christmas season, that we spend most of our lives waiting for something. We wait for packages to arrive in the mail, we wait for the right time to put up the Christmas decorations, we wait for answers to prayers, we wait for new opportunities, change, forgiveness and even closure. As Christians we wait for the coming of Christ.

Waiting carries many emotions along with it. We wait with gladness, hopefulness, excitement and nervous anticipation. As the waiting grows longer we may feel impatient, restless and fearful. Depending on what it is that we are waiting for we may even experience sadness, fear and dread.

Unfortunately, for me, I am not patient when it comes to waiting. As I have previously mentioned, my husband JP has been out of work since August. In November he started the interviewing process for a job that we feel could be a great fit for him. We were told that he was one of the top 3 candidates and a decision would be made at the beginning of December. Well, due to Covid, everyone working remotely and the holidays a decision has not been made and we are still waiting. During this period I have been excited for JP, hopeful that he will get it, disappointed that we haven’t heard, anxious that he won’t get it, impatient that I need to wait longer than originally hoped and frustrated that we may have to start the new year not knowing. That’s how I handle waiting for anything. I start off optimistic, lose momentum along the way and become increasingly more pessimistic. I must admit, I need to be vigilant so that my prayer life doesn’t follow suit. It would be easy to start off praying enthusiastically, with determination and positive thinking but as the waiting continues and I grow impatient, my prayers could just as easily become more somber and less frequent. If this were to happen would I be, in essence, giving up on God the longer I waited? Would I begin to believe He may not have a plan for me after all? No, I can’t allow that to happen, No matter where I am in the waiting cycle, my prayers must remain fervent and earnest.

As I was in the frustrated phase of waiting I mentioned above, I was introduced to the Cheek family through social media (@seedsandleven on instagram). They were also in a period of waiting. But they weren’t waiting for an answer to something like I was. They were waiting for heart breaking closure; waiting for Jesus to take their 7-year-old daughter home to Heaven where she would be reunited with her twin sister and her body would finally be free from pain. They were at the end of their waiting period when I heard their story. The thing that really touched me was that in the midst of their sadness and grief , while watching their precious daughter suffer, they were also praising God for being an ever present father and trusting His plan. Their prayers had not faltered. They remained fervent and earnest.

Someone else who waited was Mary. Yes, it is only natural that when a women is pregnant we must wait for the birth, but it doesn’t always make the waiting easier. I remember with all three of my children, at the end of my pregnancy I was impatiently waiting to meet my new baby. I desperately wanted the pregnancy to be over so I could count fingers and toes and make sure everything was alright and hold them in my arms. I think Mary’s waiting was probably a bit different than mine. Although she may not have known all the details, she knew that she had been chosen by God to carry a child would do great things. Did she wait out her pregnancy in excitement or uncertainty? Perhaps her waiting was bittersweet; excited about being a mother but knowing that she would have to share her baby with the world and wanting the waiting for his arrival to last a bit longer.

Whatever the wait, there is always an end. I know that JP will find a job, little Ally Cheek went to Heaven and Jesus was born. Whatever it is that we must wait for, we need to do so remembering that God has a plan for our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11. No, waiting is not easy. During the period of waiting we must pray. Perhaps instead of only praying for the end result we should be praying that God will fill us with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to help us while we wait. He loves us. He has a plan for us. Our wait will be over. Christ will come! May we learn to wait for God’s plan to come to fruition with patience, peace and faithfulness.

Merry Christmas. Love, Melissa