Waiting

“We are not born to wait. We are born to do.”

Dean Koontz – Your Heart Belongs to Me

So many of us are waiting for something.  We’re waiting for true love to arrive.  We’re waiting for our kids to go to college.  We’re waiting for Jesus to return. We’re waiting for the bus to get here.  We’re waiting for an important phone call.  We’re waiting for the perfect job.  We’re waiting to retire.  We're waiting for the house near the beach.  We’re waiting for our ship to come in.  We’re waiting.   Here then is a list of things to do to make the waiting more enjoyable:

·      Practice gratitude for all the good things in your life while waiting for better.

·      Sing.

·      Read.

·      Study

·      Pray.

·      Exercise or do something physical.

·      Help someone.

·      Work on your Purpose.

·      Clean up your place, your car or your workspace.

·      Be present in the moment.

·      Do something fun.

·      Count your blessings.

·      See a movie.

·      Bring comfort to someone who needs it.

·      Donate or sell things you no longer need.

·      Determine the goal you will have after the thing you were waiting for has arrived.

·      Act as if you already have the thing you were waiting for.

·      Get Started.

·      Keep Going.

I realize not every suggestion above may work or be relevant to every situation, but the important thing is this:  When the thing I am waiting for arrives, will I truly be ready?   Jesus said he would come like a thief in the night.  Sometimes good (and bad) things come when we least expect them.  Here are some questions to ask:

·      Am I ready?

·      Have I saved enough money?

·      Have I used my time well?

·      Have I invested in people?

·      Have I been loving and attentive?

·      Have I worked while I was waiting?

·      If the thing I am waiting for came now, would I be truly ready for it?

I once wrote, “Don’t wait for opportunity; prepare for it.”  I don’t want to spend my time waiting; I want to spend my time working and enjoying life.  Right now I am alone and if someone walked in, I would want to be caught working and writing.  There are things I’m waiting for and it’s not easy.  Waiting is rarely easy.  Being present or productive is easy though. 

So I’m not going to wait.  I’m going to pretend that the thing I’m waiting for is already here.  Or that it will never arrive.  Or, more accurately, the thing I am waiting for is waiting for me, too.  It is waiting for me to finish my work.  So that’s what I’m doing.   I’m not waiting.  I’m working.