31 days of waiting – the picture.

I kind of wanted to do the whole 31 days of thing, but then I had NO IDEA what to write about.

Then I came across this picture, taken on our journey back from the women’s retreat last year. It was snowy outside and I sat curled up under a blanket next to Amber. We talked quietly so as not to wake the older, napping ladies on the bus. We stopped and got crappy McDonalds coffee. We watched a video of her husband on the Price is Right.

and it is the perfect example of what waiting is.

Waiting is like riding on a bus. You’re not really in control of the outcome, you just kind of are along for the ride. Sure, there are elements of waiting that are deeply rooted in self-discipline, but that’s not necessarily the kind of waiting I want to write about right now. Because I am the last person in the whole entire world with any sort of authority to write on discipline.

I’m talking about the bus ride kind of waiting. Where you are filling the time and trusting the driver to get you to the right place at the right time. You can say “I really need to go to the bathroom” and they’ll probably pull over, but ultimately you get back on the bus to finish the journey.

On our bus ride back from the retreat, we knew where we were headed. We were going back to our church, where our cars were parked and we’d get in them and re-gain control. But on God’s bus, we mostly end up at another bus stop to board another, new waiting route. Waiting for a new job or a new living situation, waiting for a boyfriend or a fiancé, waiting for a house or children or for grandchildren or a new president. All of this waiting and all of this trusting.

I think one of the most important things I’ve learned about riding the waiting bus is that waiting is not a “stop.” Waiting is itself a movement. It is the constant moving forward into the unknown, towards the unknown, with no real control on the timing or the route. You just are going.

There’s a friend of mine whom I love very much, but even though I love her so much she drives me crazy sometimes. I genuinely think she believes she’ll meet the man of her dreams when she orders a pizza and this guy who is really a surgeon but who volunteers delivering pizza on his spare time will show up and he’ll be like “I have been looking for you my whole life” and then first comes love then comes marriage then comes baby in a baby carriage. She thinks that waiting means doing nothing.

We have to wait with intention, and with purpose, making the most of every moment we have while we are in constant anticipation of what comes next.

What waiting route are you on? That is, what are you waiting for? 
What are the things that you want – and trust will come – but cannot force into being?

Previously:
1. 31 days of waiting {introduction}