The Act of Waiting

I used to consider waiting a passive thing and I tend to not be a terribly passive person when it comes to not doing anything. This year, I fear is going to be a year of waiting. Thankfully waiting is not quite as passive as I had once believed.

I am waiting for a great number of things right now. I am waiting to go to China, to finish work, for my fiancee's ordination, to get married and begin my marriage, to go back to school and hopefully find my vocation. I am waiting for people to get along with each other, I am waiting to have more time to myself. I am waiting for so many things, but I am not waiting passively.

I am planning for many things, such as wedding details and picking things for classes in the fall. I am learning about the place where I will be living and trying to find ways in which I will be able to adjust to a drastically different life style than the one I have become accustomed to. I am taking every bit of joy I can out of the work that I do because I do know that I will not be able to do this forever. I am waiting for parts of my life to end while others will begin.

It has been a process of learning for me that waiting does not mean doing nothing. It actually means do something. It brought a drastically different meaning to the season of Advent that has just past, as well as adding a different perspective to my year of waiting. It could be something that I could learn to enjoy, I hope. It's good practice for other times in my life when I will have to wait and simply enjoy the miracle of time and the miracle of having it.