the Weight of Waiting

I have a hidden talent and when you hear what it is you are going to be green with envy or maybe not. You see, I have this innate ability to choose the wrong line. It does not matter which store I enter, when I arrive at the front of the store with my cart or arms full of merchandise to purchase, 9 times out of 10 I choose the wrong line. It's a gift, I know! Even when I carefully observe the amount of items others in line have to purchase, the speed of the checker, their chattiness or lack thereof, I still choose the slowest line in the joint. My record is 10 for 10 when I am in a hurry. When I have to be somewhere else at a certain time and that time is fast approaching...wrong line. There I stand with my foot tapping, mind mentally clicking down the minutes while simultaneously trying to decide if I hop to another line. Fear keeps me stuck in the same line. Fear that if I move to another line it might actually be slower. Fear that if I walk away from my spot, as bad as it is, I will lose said spot and thereby cause myself to wait even longer. You see my conundrum?!

Why is waiting so difficult? Why does five minutes in line at the store seem like forever? I spend five times that looking at social media thinking I am only spending a measly five minutes. It's all relative. All waiting is relative to the object of our waiting.

I find myself hating the waiting. Waiting for the door to open. Waiting to get to where I am going. Waiting for my timing to line up with God's timing. Just waiting.

I know that waiting is not a new thing. In fact is it quite an ancient thing. The scriptures are full of waiting. Psalms has much to say on the theme of waiting on the Lord. Here are just a few.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD" (Psalm 27:14, NIV).

"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield" (Psalm 33:20, NIV).

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him" (Psalm 37:7a, NIV).

"I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope" (Psalm 130:5, NIV).

I understand that what I am waiting for is nothing compared to being delivered from enemies who are out to do me physical harm or being enslaved by another country like the psalmists. I get that my life is not horrible. It is actually pretty good. That being said, I still hate waiting.

"Lean into it," people say. "Focus on learning what you need to learn during this time," they say. These well-meaning words are nice and all but not very helpful.

So, what is my point? Waiting is difficult. Waiting can be miserable and frustrating. Waiting can seem like forever. How I decide to spend my time waiting is what matters. In the slow line at the store, I can either tap my toes in frustration or have a conversation with the other people in line. While looking at closed doors, I can either get mad or I can keep moving forward by trying another door.

I want to live life while I wait.  

What are you waiting for? How do you live life while waiting? Share your best tips for making waiting bearable.