Waiting....

One of the (many) books I love is Dr. Seuss's Oh! The Places You'll Go. I really do find it contains some deep and sweet thoughts, but there is one point at which I must disagree with him.

He calls "The waiting place" a most "useless" place:

You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

I am not very good at waiting.  I much prefer action-productivity!  But life has taught me that some of the deepest, most holy work happens when I must wait.  Whether it is waiting for the plan to unfold, or the test results to come in...waiting shows us what is really lurking in the deep places of our hearts. Is it fear? Is it faith? Or, most likely, some combination of the two.

This week, I am waiting on the results of two skin biopsies that were sent off last week.  I am also waiting for Wednesday to hurry up and come, since that will be Elijah's 6 month MRI to make sure there are no tumors growing in his brain.

And while this type of waiting makes me long for the moments when I was just waiting for the blue stuff to sit in the toilet long enough until I can scrub....

Or waiting with a little person who is learning to use the potty (oh wait! We are doing that too!!!)....

I remember what God has taught me about waiting. Waiting on test results, or circumstances is always exhausting.  But there is a waiting that actually renews our strength.

So maybe, just maybe, that is what Dr. Seuss is saying after all.  There is a waiting that leaves us weary and exhausted-anytime we are waiting on our outward circumstances to give us inner peace.  But there is a waiting upon the Lord, which calls us to worship even while we wait. No matter what the outcome, He is still worthy of the worship offered in the waiting.

I can't say that I have mastered this by any means. But this week is another chance to practice. :-)