Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.

Psalm 62:5

All waiting is hard. Some waits are more brutal than others.

It’s 7:30 a.m. in Florida as I write this. My sweet 88 and 85 year old parents are stuck in the Detroit airport on their way home from visiting us here. There is ice and snow pelting the Midwest. Oh, January.

Mom and Dad are “sleeping” in black vinyl and chrome airport seats not designed for comfort. They have been there since 5:00 p.m. last night when their connecting flight to Chicago was cancelled. The rescheduled flight has been pushed later and later to the point that they probably would get home quicker if they bought boots and walked.

They are waiting, waiting, waiting. But here’s the thing. We know that at some point, a flight will take off, carrying them from Detroit to Chicago. They are waiting with a sure end.

Also this morning as I’m writing, I jump up every few seconds to catch the sun as it lifts through the clouds above the Atlantic Ocean. I wait for the sunrise. I am waiting with a sure end.

Our friend Alyssa was pregnant, waiting a week past her due date, but the doctors comforted her, saying at some point her baby girl would be born. It was a sure thing.

However, as Emily P. Freeman says, “All waiting is not created equal. This I know for sure.”

I have other friends who are waiting without a certain end.

One who is waiting to get pregnant.

One who is waiting for healing.

One who is waiting to meet the man who she longs to marry.

There is no clear picture of the end. No guarantee that at some point someone official will call your number, and say “Ok, it’s time. You’re done waiting for exactly what you want.”

Years ago I was waiting for a job, a title, a paycheck – validation that my calling was legit. That job never came. What I learned was that what I was waiting for wasn’t as important as Who I was waiting with.

Who > What  

When my focus is on Emmanuel, God with me, I am reminded that He loves me more than I can imagine.

I am assured that He will work all things together for good as I seek Him in the waiting.

I am secure in my identity as a cherished child of His regardless of circumstances.

I am prompted to consider that His perspective is greater than mine, His purposes will prevail.

I am a terrible wait-er. Much easier for me to write this than to practice it. But practice we must.

So, today if you are weary of waiting, take a deep breath.

Breathe in the nearness of your friend Jesus who waits with you.

I started thinking about this prompted by Emily P. Freeman. If you’d like more on waiting, check out her wonderful podcast, The Next Right Thing.