Since May I have been waiting for something, or should I say someone? With the changing of each page of the calendar the arrival date drew closer and closer. Now the “due date” is in the rearview mirror, and I am still waiting. As I sit here in my Waiting Place, knowing my grandson could come any day now, I ponder the Waiting Places in our lives and how to live in them.
My Mysterious Mind
How do you feel about waiting? If you’re like most people, you are not a fan. Thoughts of waiting include images of being on hold on the phone, checking the mailbox for an anticipated letter or package, and long lines at the airport TSA. Waiting seems just to be wasted time between the current moment and something we anticipate will arrive or happen.
Waiting for a baby to arrive, then watching the “due date” pass, is one form of waiting that doesn’t feel like wasted time. It is hard to wait, but we know babies come when it’s time for them to arrive. Speaking of which, our sixth grandchild was due on December 9th. As I write this on the 12th, we are still waiting for his arrival. Perhaps, by the time I finish writing this message, I will have news that my waiting is over. And it’s not just my husband and I and the parents who are waiting, but my father, the great-grandfather, is also waiting. I called him on the due date, not with news, but to see how he was doing. He quickly asked me if I was calling with news. My husband called his mother that day, too. She answered the phone with a cheerful “Congratulations!” Nope, sorry, we are still waiting. We are in the “he could come any day” window of waiting.
Which got me thinking about waiting. I think there are at least two forms of waiting. First, like waiting for news of a baby’s arrival, is waiting for something good. This waiting is layered with joyful anticipation. The second form of waiting happens when something we dread might be coming, like waiting on medical test results prompted by some problematic symptom. I’m going to focus on the first form of waiting because the latter is about worry and imagined tragedies, suffered before they arrive, and they might not.
I recall the page in Dr. Suess’s “Oh, the places you will go!” book, the one about the Waiting Place. Here, everyone is just waiting… “waiting for a train to go, or a bus to come, or the mail to come, or the rain to go, or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for a fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night, or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.” Of the many popular quotes from this inspirational book about life, the quotes from the Waiting Place never make the cut.
We don’t want to wait. No one likes waiting. And, yet, the Waiting Place is a common part of life for all of us. Dr. Suess, in this wonderful book, doesn’t offer advice on what to do about the Waiting Place. Turning the page, he just proclaims “No, that’s not for you! Somehow you’ll escape all the waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.” I have loved Dr. Suess since childhood, including this book. But he fails to offer anything productive to consider when it comes to waiting. Perhaps I can do better, even if it’s without funny rhymes.
Message of Mystery Acres
The forest is a place where waiting is natural and pleasant. I wait for the sun to set at the end of the day but without any sense of it being delayed or taking too long. After dusk, I watch to see if a bat will appear to hunt in the clearing for bugs, but I never feel like its arrival is at the wrong time. Even when awaiting the arrival of friends for a visit, I am usually patient. Things seem to happen when they are supposed to in the woods.
I wonder if waiting is connected to trust. Am I patient in the forest because I trust things will happen as the natural order dictates? Is my impatience related to a sense of mistrust in the ways things will happen? Or, perhaps, I know the discomfort of waiting because I want control, and I do not have it. In the forest, I have no delusions of control. I cannot control the sun, the bats, or even the arrival of visitors. What happens, just happens. There is no dreaded Waiting Place at Mystery Acres. Life just is.
The message of Mystery Acres invites each of us to consider a more natural, accepting way of waiting. I anticipate the setting of the sun or the arrival of the evening bats, and I enjoy each when, or if, they arrive. What might that look like in my life outside of the forest? Can I enjoy this moment without a sense of fretting until the next one arrives?
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Jesus said, ‘Be dressed, ready for service, with your lamps burning; like servants waiting for their master to return, so when He comes and knocks, they can open the door immediately for Him.’” (Luke 12:35-36)
Christians are in a Waiting Place; they’ve been there since Jesus returned to heaven after His three-year ministry walking among people. Before He left, Jesus spoke often of His return, sometimes in parables. One of those places is recorded in the book of Luke, chapter twelve. Here, Jesus used a parable of a group of servants who were waiting for their master to return. And, in this parable, Jesus provided instructions for how to wait.
First, Jesus said the servants should be dressed. What are they to wear? In other places, the Bible talks about being clothed in righteousness, wearing the purity provided by Jesus. Since the fall in the Garden of Eden, being naked is not a good thing. Here, in the story of the servants, the danger of nakedness isn’t literal; the danger comes from not being clothed with the righteousness offered by Jesus. When the master returns, those who serve Him are to be dressed in the clothing He provided for them.
Second, the servants are to be ready for service. While they are waiting, there is work for the servants to do. Until He returns, the master might send directions for what He wants His servants to be doing. Unlike the pointless Waiting Place described by Dr. Suess, the followers of Jesus are filling the time by serving Him. They don’t escape the Waiting Place by keeping busy; rather they calmly do as they are told until their master comes back.
Third, the master directs His servants to keep their lamps burning. This requires having sufficient oil for long periods of time when the master’s return might seem delayed. For believers, this means remaining strong in their faith through being a part of community with other believers; they read and study the Bible, pray together, and worship God. These habits keep the light of their faith adequately fueled. When they neglect their membership in a community of believers, stop reading the Bible, become lazy in prayer, and skip going to church, the oil of their faith will diminish, and the fires of their faith grow dim.
The words of Ancient Mystery’s Voice conclude with an image of the master coming back. The phrase “when He comes” is included; the phrase isn’t “IF He comes.” Jesus said those words two-thousand years ago. Those who follow Him have been in His Waiting Place for a long time. While waiting, those who believe in Jesus are to stay dressed, ready for service, and keep their lamps burning. Like the arrival of our grandson past his “due” date, Jesus could come any day!
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of the Waiting Place, where we are waiting for the arrival of someone or something? First, this mystery reveals how life is meant to be lived in the current moment but also in the anticipation of something on the horizon. Even in the forest, we naturally find ourselves looking towards what lies ahead. While you enjoy the blessings of today, the healthy way to live in the Waiting Place is by looking forward to something.
The problem with the Waiting Place arises when we are JUST waiting. Like the servants waiting for their master to return, we can focus on being dressed, ready for service, and fully charged. These servants were not thumb-twiddling sluggards, nor should we be. Dr. Suess only offered encouragement to escape the Waiting Place, however, waiting is inescapable. No matter where we are in life, there is always some way in which we are waiting. The question is: How do we fill the time while waiting?
As I started writing, I hoped for news of my grandson’s arrival by the time I reached this point. Nope. I am still waiting. But I am not JUST waiting. Not only am I writing this bit of encouragement to you about filling your time in the Waiting Place with meaning, I have been doing laundry, choosing clothes to pack, and reserving flights and a place to stay near my son’s home. I must confess to knowing my grandson isn’t just coming any day now; his mother is in the hospital being induced. When this reaches you, I will be in Washington, DC getting fresh baby snuggles with a new, tiny human.
While in the Waiting Place, enjoy the anticipation of the good on the way. Like little children waiting for Christmas, kindle excitement about the wonderful blessings headed to you. Dr. Suess wrote “Oh, the places you’ll go!” which invites the question: what places are you going? Do you have a trip planned? Research the places to go and things to do while you are there. Do you have company headed to your home? Find joy in planning meals and preparing spaces for them. Is there a job or volunteer role you have in your life? Develop a vision for the good you can bring through your work. Life is meant to be lived in the direction of something.
As an old mom to young parents, I suggest you take lessons from your children on how to live in anticipation of some awaited event or gift. Notice the delightful restlessness that accompanies waiting. Yes, there is joy in the arrival of the long-awaited-for something; but there is also energy and bliss in the expectation of its coming. As parents, what is the anticipated something on the horizon for you? Enjoy the current season with your children but live with joyous hope for exciting times ahead.
I am in the Waiting Place, eagerly and restlessly hoping the phone rings with news soon. What does your Waiting Place look like? Are you “just” waiting, or do you have purposeful activity to occupy your time? Like the servants, stay dressed, ready, and keep your lamps burning brightly. There is good now, but something better is coming. He can come any day now!
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to not being a fan of waiting. What I want I want without delay. Help me to trust the timing of Your blessings to me. Thank You for providing robes of righteousness and acts of service for my time of waiting. Remind me to stay in community with other believers who will keep my lamp burning fiercely until You return. Thank You for giving me joy in the anticipation of what lies ahead. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I recommend you read the entire parable of the servants waiting for their master. See Luke, chapter 12, starting at verse 35.
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