Waiting

The idea of waiting strikes a rather downbeat chord – at the outset.  Nobody wants to wait in line for hours.  It’s bummer enough to wait, but to do so standing in a poorly ventilated place with the dissonance of heads scampering about sucks out what is left of anybody’s cool. There’s the waiting for results – of an exam, of a medical test, of a long prayed for pregnancy. One can imagine the excruciating pain of waiting for a final grade or the unforbearing ordeal of waiting for a promotion after years of impeccable service.  For some, there’s the long wait to get out of high school and move on to college for self-reinvention. Or to move on with college and start building their own lives. Children couldn’t wait to mature.  Teenagers try to advance to adulthood like there’s no tomorrow. And parents can’t wait for their children to grow up – only to realize late in life that time flew so fast they wished they were young again.  There’s the waiting for dreams, the thought bubble of “someday when I grow up”. Sometimes, those bubbles dissipate or get popped; for some they get larger as they are realized or remain as is.  There’s also that big wait for the One, that solitary being you feel would perfectly complement you – or if he or she will ever come.  Sadly enough, some couldn’t wait on life.  The saddest thing comes when we couldn’t wait on God.  And we blow it all away.

Three things.  The wait, the why and the what you’re waiting for.

The wait is the act or time throughout which some action is anticipated.  It may sound passive but it doesn’t necessarily have to.  In fact, those who become productive even while they wait are less likely to complain of the length of time of waiting.  They busy themselves, that upon the end, the wait wouldn’t even seem long.  The wait is the period of growth, not an interlude of grumbling.  The wait is the period of preparation for what you’ve waited for, so that when it finally comes to pass, you’re all set and ready to receive.  Why the need for preparation? Because a month-old baby will not be able to handle solid food and will just end up sick.  He needs to grow up first. Just the same, we might not be able to handle it all at once and waste it all away.  When it comes to relationships, the period of waiting for the right person is vital to the quality and success of your relationship, of your future and the outgrowth of it.  When you can’t wait and rush in where angels fear to tread, regrets will most likely later hound you, to say the least.  The question is not how long (or how short) you waited; the question is if you did it right. When people tire of waiting, they tend to be myopic and fail to see the bigger picture.  Suddenly a rash spirit overcomes them.  Insecurity, jealousy, ennui, dissatisfaction or raging hormones take the better of them.  All of a sudden, waiting seems to be a sacrifice they find hard to take.  But it’s only a matter of perspective.  The wait is no sacrifice but a part of the timeline of your life.  While you wait, it doesn’t mean that the rest of your world stands still.  Waiting is no sacrifice for those who look at it in a different light.  Perspective and attitude both play major roles. The good news is while you wait for a dream, you are getting ready to handle that dream in the process.  And the period of getting ready is part and parcel of the whole package.  In childbirth, you wait nine months while carrying the bundle of joy in your womb.  The whole nine months of growing and preparing is part and parcel of the whole package of a wonderful and healthy baby.  Waiting reaps; in fact, it reaps generously that when it finally comes to pass, you’ll realize that it was all worth it. And that probably you wouldn’t have it any other way.  But the challenge to waiting is that one must go through it.  Sure it’s a nice thought to know what lies ahead, the prize that awaits you, the end goal that you are going to conquer.  But it’s easier said than done. That is why the idea of waiting must be appreciated.  To endure, you always go back to how you value the why behind the wait. Because the more that you know and value your why the more that you are able to endure the wait.

And why endure? Because the period between your decision and the result is no smooth-sailing.  Expect tests, problems and challenges along the way.  You dream for that top spot in your company? Going up the corporate ladder means facing challenges to your self-esteem, impossible bosses, a stretching of your expertise, a not-so-perfect work environment and even possibly, a lay-off.  You dream to become a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer? Well school’s not always so cool when you have to pull an all-nighter to study, sacrifice a barkada weekend for a trip to the library, or get picked on by your most terror professor.  You dream for a lucrative business? Well, they don’t happen overnight. Big successes usually start with small ones.  Dream of marrying the One? Trial-and-error relationships will get you nowhere near your destiny.  Why wait when you think the feeling’s mutual? Because fact of the matter is: love is more than mere heightened emotions.  You want to have a family of your own? Well financial and emotional preparedness come with the package.  Are your spirits dampened already? Check your attitude. All of these are NOT to discourage but to keep things in perspective.  If you don’t have the right attitude, you might find yourself questioning everything. If you fall prey to the temptations of seemingly better alternatives and want the easy way “up”, you forfeit the best in store for you.  God made you a promise and He will deliver without a doubt.  But that promise may not always come at your own appointed time.  Trust this: God has a better timing (who knows, his timing may be earlier than yours!).  The promise may be clouded out by present circumstances, insecurity, rejection, trials and doubts, but it remains.  Your dream will be fulfilled if God says so, but it will also be tested.  And the tests sometimes come in the form of waiting.

In the end, all this fuss about waiting will get those who patiently do so to a favorable conclusion: it is not so much the wait that counts most really; it’s what you’ve waited for that matters.  After enduring hours standing in line, all the bad vibes disappear as you finally get your turn.  After waiting and working hard for that promotion, satisfaction will taste better when you achieve it.  After waiting patiently for years for that special someone you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, you realize that those years could well have been minutes.  After waiting for a child that seemed impossible to arrive, you find yourself awed in God’s grace with a baby that’s worth all the wait and the faith.  Waiting is more than a test of endurance.  It is more than a challenge of our determination.  It defines our character and our faith.  It defines the result, the prize we are to take.  Your appreciation of waiting and determination to do so will determine a value.  Your faith that it will come to pass determines its coming to pass.  If the prize is worth the wait, then be worthy of the prize: wait. :)