Expectant Waiting
“I’ve learned that waiting is the most difficult bit, and I want to get used to the feeling, knowing that you’re with me, even when you’re not by my side.”
~Paulo Coelho
Is it? or Isn’t it? That would be the question to ask today. Is it the Ascension or isn’t it? In actuality, today is the Ascension. However, the solemnity will not be celebrated until this coming Sunday. The Ascension was permanently moved to the Seventh Sunday of Easter several years ago now.
The feast — and the move — serve to highlight something that is very much a part of our daily lives: waiting. We wait for a host of things in life. Parents wait with expectant hope for their child to be born. They wait for that child to crawl and then to speak and then to walk. They wait for that child to begin school.
Once the child is in school, the child has many waiting games as well. The child waits to advance in years. The child waits to become a member of a sports team or an academic bowl or a choir or band member. The child waits for a first job, a first date, a first steady relationship.
As the child grows, that child waits for graduation and for the job that will come post-graduation. The young man or woman waits to find a partner that he or she will be able to share life and love. Eventually, they marry. They await the birth of their child. And the circle begins again.
In the midst of all of our waiting, we also wait for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to us. We know that the promise was fulfilled with Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, there is one thing left before that picture is totally complete: our return to God. While here on earth, we go through so many waiting moments. However, all the waiting becomes worth it when God calls us home.
The Lord has gone to prepare a place for us. When He calls us home, the waiting will be over and our joy will be complete.
FAITH ACTION: In prayer today, ask God to give you the patience that you need as you wait for Him to call you.