The Weight of Waiting

We think of waiting as
uncomfortable

Waiting for
waiting with
waiting in

It is a child
waiting
counting down the days until
a celebration
A colleague
waiting
longing
for the weekend
An expectant mother
waiting
yearning
for the birth
of the one inside her

We think of waiting as
uncomfortable
heavy
weighty

But what if waiting is
where you're supposed to be

What if the weight of waiting
was not uncomfortable

What if the weight of waiting was
like a duvet on a cold winter's night
Heavy
but soothing and warm
Like a child on your knee
Weighty
yet solid and secure

What if the weight of waiting was
the weight of expectation
Living in the sure and certain hope
that what is promised
will come
That what is promised
will not fail

What if the weight of waiting was
not the weight of external forces
asking questions and
pushing conclusions
into your world
But a friend
sitting beside you
hand on yours
breathing each moment with you
as you wait

What if the weight of waiting was
the weight of certainty
A knowledge that you belong
in this moment
in the waiting
In the now
and the not yet

What if the weight of waiting was
the weight of hope
A trust in the One
who asked you to wait
for his Word
spoken into the darkness
His Word
made flesh
making its dwelling among us

What if the weight of waiting is
exactly where you're supposed to be
What then

Then
you sit
in expectation
and certainty
and hope
Ignoring the world's instructions
for you
to hurry up and
move along
because
time is running out

For the weight of waiting is
lived out
n the knowledge that
there is a time for everything
And time is in His hands
The hands of the One
who has asked you
to wait
in the uncertainty
the stillness and
the quiet whisper of 'not yet'

The weight of waiting is
found in the joy
of singing out
'great is your faithfulness'
of never ceasing to cry
'come, Lord Jesus'
Even in the weight of the waiting

And it is there that you learn
that the weight of the waiting
s just the moments before
the fulfilment of a promise

So
you can find me
in the waiting
learning
slowly
to wait
in the quiet
in the stillness
in the uncertainty
right
now.